Socioeconomic, nutritional and behavioral factors associated with severe childhood caries in children aged 18-36 months

ABSTRACT

Objective:To relate the occurrence of severe childhood caries with nutritional, socioeconomic and behavioral factors among preschool children. Material and Methods:This cross-sectional study included 111 children aged 18-36 months who sought dental care in basic health units of São Luis, Brazil. The oral health status was measured by the DMFT index (number of decayed, missing and filled teeth), IPV/ISG. Socioeconomic, nutritional and behavioral data were collected through a questionnaire applied to parents. Caries Group was defined as DMFT ≥ 1. Data were analyzed using the Chi-square test and Fisher exact test. Poisson regression models and incidence rate ratio (IRR)were used for multivariate analysis, adopting significance level of 5% and confidence interval (CI) of 95%. Results:It was observed that 61 children (55%) were free from caries and 50 (45%) had the disease. In the Caries Group, 38 (76%) had white spot lesions, 70% had the habit of consuming sweets between meals (p=0.04) and the sucrose intake frequency was considered high (3x daily). After multivariate analysis, age (IRR=1.05, 95%CI=1.03 to 1.07, p <0.001) and consumption of sweets (IRR=1.46, 95%CI=1.11 to 1.92 p=0.006) were associated with increased incidence of caries. Conclusion:The findings of this study suggest that frequent exposure to sugars in the form of sweets between meals, lack of guidance of mothers on oral hygiene and increased age were determining factors for the occurrence of severe childhood caries