The Impact of Early Childhood Factors on Dental Caries Incidence in First Permanent Molars: A 7-Year Follow-Up Study

Abstract

The development of dental caries in first permanent molars has been extensively investigated. However, studies are inconclusive in determining the influence of contextual and individual factors on dental caries incidence in this group of teeth. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of contextual and individual factors on dental caries incidence in first permanent molars. This 7-year cohort study was conducted with children (1–5 years of age) who had been assessed initially in a survey performed in 2010. Dental caries was assessed at the baseline through the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Contextual and individual variables were collected at baseline and included the presence of cultural community centers in the neighborhood as well as demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and biological characteristics. A multilevel Poisson regression model was used to investigate the influence of individual and contextual characteristics on dental caries incidence in first permanent molars (relative risk [RR] and 95% confidence interval [CI]). Of the 639 children examined at baseline, a total of 449 were reassessed after 7 years (70.3% retention rate). Children who lived in neighborhoods with cultural community centers had a lower risk of dental caries in first permanent molars at the follow-up (RR 0.78; 95% CI 0.62–0.99). Children from families with a low income (RR 1.34; 95% CI 1.03–1.76) and poor parental perception of children’s oral health (RR 1.56; 95% CI 1.18–2.06) were associated with a higher risk of dental caries in first molars. In conclusion, individual and contextual determinants showed an important role in the incidence of caries in first permanent molars.