Breastfeeding Duration and Childhood Caries: A Cohort Study.

This cohort study was conducted in Khon Kaen, Thailand, to test the hypothesis that a longer breastfeeding duration increases the risk for dental caries in primary teeth. We collected information on infant feeding practices and potential confounders using a structured questionnaire to interview mothers or caregivers during the second trimester of pregnancy and after birth at 21 days and at 3, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months. Regardless of other liquids and foods, full breastfeeding was defined as feeding breast milk but not formula, while any breastfeeding was feeding breast milk with or without formula. Two calibrated dentists measured dental caries when the children were 3-4 years of age using the decayed, missing, and filled surfaces (dmfs) index following the World Health Organization criteria. Negative binomial regression with a generalized linear model was used to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using dmfs as an outcome. Log-binomial regression was performed to model the caries prevalence. Of 556 children, 88.1% had dental caries with a mean dmfs of 14.2. Full breastfeeding for 6-11 months was significantly associated with a lower dmfs (adjusted RR 0.77, 95% CI 0.63, 0.93) and a lower caries prevalence (adjusted RR 0.45, 95% CI 0.22, 0.90). The frequency of sleeping while breast- or bottle-feeding increased the caries risk in a dose-response manner. There was no association between duration of any breastfeeding and dental caries. In conclusion, full breastfeeding for 6-11 months may protect against dental caries in primary teeth. Prolonged breastfeeding was not associated with dental caries in this population.

Adverse birth outcomes and childhood caries: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between adverse birth outcomes and dental caries in primary teeth. METHODS: This study included children in Khon Kaen, Thailand, who participated in the Prospective Cohort Study of Thai Children. Preterm was defined as a birth at <37 weeks gestation, low birthweight (LBW) as birthweight <2500 g, and small-for-gestational age (SGA) as birthweight <10th percentile of expected weight for gestational age. Two calibrated dentists measured dental caries in primary teeth when the children were 3-4 years old using decayed, missing and filled surfaces (dmfs) index following the World Health Organization criteria. We used negative binomial regression with generalize linear models to estimate relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for confounding factors. Of 758 children with gestational age data and 833 with birthweight data, the 544 (follow-up rate of 71.8% in preterm and 65.3% in LBW) who had dental data available were included in the analysis. RESULTS: Dental caries was observed in 480 children (88.2%), with a mean dmfs of 14.3 (standard deviation 12.8). The adjusted RR for dental caries was 0.61 (95% CI 0.43, 0.85) for preterm, 0.89 (95% CI 0.67, 1.21) for LBW, and 0.96 (95% CI 0.74, 1.26) for SGA. CONCLUSIONS: There was an inverse association between preterm and childhood caries. LBW and SGA were not associated with dental caries in this population.

Sociobehavioral factors associated with caries increment: a longitudinal study from 24 to 36 months old children in Thailand.

The aim of this study is to investigate sociobehavioral risk factors from the prenatal period until 36 months of age, and the caries increment from 24 to 36 months of the child in Thailand. The data utilized in this study come from the prospective cohort study of Thai children (PCTC) from prenatal to 36 months of the child in Mueang Nan district, Northern Thailand. The total sample size recruited was 783 infants. The sample size with dental caries data was 603 and 597, at 24 months and at 36 months, respectively. The sample size of having two assessment points with a dental examination (at 24 months and at 36 months) was 597. Results indicate that the caries increment was 52.9%, meaning from 365 caries free children at 24 months 193 had developed dental caries at 36 months. The prevalence of dental caries was 34.2% at 24 months (n = 206) and 68.5% at 36 months of age (n = 409). In bivariate analysis, higher education of the mother, lower household income, bottle feeding of the infant, frequent sweet candy consumptions, and using rain or well water as drinking water were associated with dental caries increment, while in multivariate conditional logistic regression analysis lower household income, higher education of the mother, and using rain or well water as drinking water remained associated with dental caries increment. In conclusion, a very significant increase in caries development was observed, and oral health may be influenced by sociobehavioural risk factors.