scholarly journals Early Childhood Caries and sugar: relationships and suggestions for prevention

Author(s):  
Stéphanie LUZ ◽  
Graziela BOTTON ◽  
Rachel de Oliveira ROCHA ◽  
Marta Dutra Machado OLIVEIRA ◽  
Fernanda Ruffo ORTIZ

ABSTRACT Objective: To show the relation between sugar intake in the infant diet and the presence of early childhood caries in a group of preschoolers. Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical records of patients aged 0 to 6 years attended at the Clinic of Babies from 2010 to 2016, at Universidade Federal de Santa Maria. The data analyzed were: patient identification, gender, age, sugar introduction (age and frequency), exclusive breastfeeding, use of a bottle containing sugar, brushing (with or without fluoride) and diagnosis of dental caries through the International Caries Detection and Assessment System. Descriptive analysis showed the characteristics of the sample and comparison analyzes were performed using Fisher and T-Student tests, to verify the relation between individual variables and sugary intake. Results: The average age of the children was 29 months. Of the 86 medical records analyzed, 80.0% of the children ingested sugary foods, and its were part of the eating routine. Only 36 medical records contained information about early childhood caries, in which 86.2% of prevalence was found. There was no statistical difference between sugary diet and other variables (p > 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest an intense relationship between sugar and early childhood caries. The high frequency of sugar intake is a risk factor for the onset of caries in early childhood, and its insertion in infant feeding may be delayed. Food and hygiene orientation is fundamental in the treatment process as well as family awareness.

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-8
Author(s):  
IE Neena ◽  
Yanina Singh ◽  
Abraham Ashwin Bahanan ◽  
SB Meghana

ABSTRACT Aim To create awareness among the parents (mothers) about early childhood caries (ECC), to provide information, and to check knowledge about oral hygiene measures. Materials and methods A total of 382 children aged 3 to 6 years were examined from play homes and schools in Davangere, Karnataka, India, by the modified International Caries Detection and Assessment System criteria. A questionnaire was given to all the mothers of the examined children to fill in the details to create awareness among mother’s oral hygiene measures. The collected data were then analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (version 17.0 software) to assess the prevalence of ECC and knowledge regarding ECC among mothers. Results About 64.7% of mothers clean their child’s mouth after feeding, 40.1% started practicing oral hygiene at the age of 12 months and practiced oral hygiene twice a day. Conclusion Results show that mothers were quite aware of oral hygiene measures. They know about the proper way of toothbrushing and also about the frequency of brushing. How to cite this article Neena IE, Poornima P, Singh Y, Bahanan AA, Meghana SB. A Survey regarding Maternal Awareness about Oral Hygiene and Prevalence of Early Childhood Caries in 3- to 6-year-old Children in Davangere, Karnataka, India. CODS J Dent 2016;8(1):6-8.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Estefania Ayala Aguirre ◽  
Matheus Lotto ◽  
Anna Paola Strieder ◽  
Agnes Fátima Pereira Cruvinel ◽  
Thiago Cruvinel

BACKGROUND In 2017, approximately 3.7 billion downloads of health apps were made on mobile phones and tablets. In this sense, a massive number of people could benefit by electronic mobile–based health interventions, making information available even with the lack of material and human resources. Hence, the use of electronic apps for dental education might be extremely useful for the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC). OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of messages sent via mobile phones as an adjuvant method for the prevention of ECC. METHODS A single-blinded, randomized, and parallel-group clinical trial will be conducted with dyads of parents or caregivers and children aged between 36 and 60 months, recruited from kindergartens and schools of Bauru, São Paulo. The determination of sample size resulted in a total of 104 dyads of parents and children, considering a power of 80%, a significance level of 5%, and an attrition of 30%. This sample will be randomly assigned to test and control groups, being divided in 52 dyads per group according to the health literacy levels of parents and the age, gender, and oral health status of children. Every 2 weeks, only participants in the test group will receive messages via WhatsApp containing preventive and education-related ECC information. The dyads will visit the dentist every 3 months during a year for the assessment of primary outcomes (sugar consumption and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System, visible plaque, and community periodontal indices) and to receive dental care measures. Secondary outcomes (electronic health literacy and general perceived self-efficacy) will be determined only at baseline and after 12-month follow-up. The quality of randomization will be evaluated throughout the study, comparing the test and control groups systematically by Student t tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables. Listwise deletion method will be applied in cases of dropouts, if the missing values satisfy the criteria of missing completely at random; otherwise, multiple imputation data strategy will be conducted. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests will be used to determine the normality and homogeneity of data, respectively, which will indicate further statistical analyses for elucidating significant differences between groups (P<.05). A Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test will be employed for parametric or nonparametric analyses, respectively. RESULTS The project was funded in 2018, and enrollment was completed in August 2019. Allocation is currently under way and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2020. CONCLUSIONS The results will contribute to understanding the importance of educational mobile messages toward the adoption of healthy behaviors for the prevention of ECC in a given population. CLINICALTRIAL Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials Universal Trial Number U1111-1216-1393; http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-2b6r7q INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/13656


10.2196/13656 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. e13656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Estefania Ayala Aguirre ◽  
Matheus Lotto ◽  
Anna Paola Strieder ◽  
Agnes Fátima Pereira Cruvinel ◽  
Thiago Cruvinel

Background In 2017, approximately 3.7 billion downloads of health apps were made on mobile phones and tablets. In this sense, a massive number of people could benefit by electronic mobile–based health interventions, making information available even with the lack of material and human resources. Hence, the use of electronic apps for dental education might be extremely useful for the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC). Objective This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of messages sent via mobile phones as an adjuvant method for the prevention of ECC. Methods A single-blinded, randomized, and parallel-group clinical trial will be conducted with dyads of parents or caregivers and children aged between 36 and 60 months, recruited from kindergartens and schools of Bauru, São Paulo. The determination of sample size resulted in a total of 104 dyads of parents and children, considering a power of 80%, a significance level of 5%, and an attrition of 30%. This sample will be randomly assigned to test and control groups, being divided in 52 dyads per group according to the health literacy levels of parents and the age, gender, and oral health status of children. Every 2 weeks, only participants in the test group will receive messages via WhatsApp containing preventive and education-related ECC information. The dyads will visit the dentist every 3 months during a year for the assessment of primary outcomes (sugar consumption and the International Caries Detection and Assessment System, visible plaque, and community periodontal indices) and to receive dental care measures. Secondary outcomes (electronic health literacy and general perceived self-efficacy) will be determined only at baseline and after 12-month follow-up. The quality of randomization will be evaluated throughout the study, comparing the test and control groups systematically by Student t tests for continuous variables and chi-square tests for categorical variables. Listwise deletion method will be applied in cases of dropouts, if the missing values satisfy the criteria of missing completely at random; otherwise, multiple imputation data strategy will be conducted. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Levene tests will be used to determine the normality and homogeneity of data, respectively, which will indicate further statistical analyses for elucidating significant differences between groups (P<.05). A Student t test or Mann-Whitney U test will be employed for parametric or nonparametric analyses, respectively. Results The project was funded in 2018, and enrollment was completed in August 2019. Allocation is currently under way and the first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2020. Conclusions The results will contribute to understanding the importance of educational mobile messages toward the adoption of healthy behaviors for the prevention of ECC in a given population. Trial Registration Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials Universal Trial Number U1111-1216-1393; http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-2b6r7q/ International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/13656


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Sivasubramanian Abirami ◽  
Noopur Panchanadikar ◽  
Murugan Satta Muthu ◽  
Suganya Balasubramanian ◽  
Jyotsna Murthy ◽  
...  

The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of sustained interventions in children with cleft lip and palate (CLP) for preventing early childhood caries (ECC). This prospective, nonrandomized interventional cohort study was conducted in infants aged 0–12 months with congenital CLP. Interventions were given to parents/primary caregivers in the form of combined oral health-care measures (sterile wet gauze piece, finger brush, toothbrush, and toothpaste) by a motivational interviewing approach. Education of primary caregivers on oral hygiene was provided by audiovisual aids and demonstration. Reinforcement of the prescribed regimen was done through daily short message services in caregivers’ preferred language and bimonthly telephone calls. Participants were followed up for 9–32 months from the time of recruitment, with a mean period of 18.3 ± 5.1 months. Rates of dental caries were represented as prevalence rates, incidence density, and transitional probability. The distribution of the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) scores on different tooth surfaces affected in the intervention group was compared descriptively with that of the age- and sex-matched historical control groups. On analysis of surface-wise distribution of the ICDAS scores in the intervention group (<i>n</i> = 1,919), 1.2% (<i>n</i> = 24) had noncavitated lesions (ICDAS codes 1 and 2), 0.88% (<i>n</i> = 17) had cavitated lesions (ICDAS codes 3–6), and 0.26% (<i>n</i> = 5) had both cavitated and noncavitated lesions (ICDAS codes 1–6). The incidence density of caries-affected children observed at the first and last follow-ups was 1.2 persons/100 person-months and 1.3 persons/100 person-months of observation, respectively. The incidence density of new caries-affected tooth surfaces at the first and last follow-ups was 0.163 surfaces/100 surface-months and 0.062 surfaces/100 surface-months, respectively. Maxillary first molars had the maximum transition from sound to the cavitated lesion (11.5%), followed by maxillary incisors from sound to noncavitated (7.5%) at the last follow-up. Based on the newly developed assessment criteria in our study, sustained interventions proved to be significantly effective in preventing ECC in children with CLP.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan ◽  
Ayodeji Babatunde Oginni ◽  
Maha El Tantawi ◽  
Tracy L. Finlayson ◽  
Abiola Adeniyi

Abstract Background The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence and severity of early childhood caries (ECC) in children 6–71-months; identify the teeth most at risk for ECC; and identify risk indicators associated with significant caries index (SiC) score in different age groups. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that collected data (using a household survey) on the ECC risk indicators (frequency of tooth brushing, consumption of refined carbohydrate in-between-meals, daily use of fluoridated toothpaste, and dental service utilization in the 12 months) in Ile-Ife, Nigeria. We computed the prevalence of ECC using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDASI (d1–6)) index; caries severity using the ICDAS-2(d1–2) and ICDAS-3(d3–6) for non-cavitated and cavitated lesions respectively, decayed missing, filled teeth (dmft), and surfaces (dmfs) and SiC indices; and caries complications using the pulp (p), ulceration (u), fistula (f) and abscesses (a) (pufa) index, for children 6–11-months-old, 12–23-months-old, 23–35-months-old, 35–47-months-old; 48–59-months-old and 60–71-months-old. The differences in the mean dmft, dmfs, pufa scores, and ICDAS 1, 2, and 3 scores, and proportion of children with each ECC risk indicator were computed. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify risk indicators for the ECC SiC index score for each age group. Results The prevalence of ECC was 4.7%: 2.9% had non-cavitated lesions and 2.8% had cavitated lesions. The mean (SD) dmft, dmfs and pufa scores were 0.13 (0.92), 0.24 (1.91) and 0.04 (0.46) respectively. The dmft and dmfs scores were highest among the 24–35-months-olds while the SiC score was highest among the 12–23-months-olds. There were no significant differences in dmft, dmfs, and pufa scores between the different age groups. Toothbrushing more than once a day was the only factor associated with the SiC score: it decreases the odds for the SiC score in children 48–59-months-old. The teeth worst affected by ECC were #85 and #61. Conclusion The prevalence, severity and risk indicator for ECC seems to differ for each age group. The granular details on the risk profile of children with ECC in this population with a low ECC prevalence and burden can allow for the planning of age-targeted interventions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (15) ◽  
pp. 884-890
Author(s):  
Javotte Nancy ◽  
Terence Barsby ◽  
Marie Theillaud ◽  
Christelle Barbey-Massin ◽  
Noëlie-B Thébaud

Background: Dental caries can develop early in life and have harmful consequences. Objective: To examine non-dental practitioners' knowledge of early childhood caries (ECC). Methods: A questionnaire on oral health and caries knowledge was emailed to five types of health professional who work with young children: paediatricians, GPs, midwives, paediatric nurses and paediatric healthcare assistants. Questions concerned: when a child should first visit a dentist; at what age toothbrushing should start; aetiopathogenic factors; early diagnosis; and the effect of breastfeeding. Results: 494 health professionals (79 paediatricians, 59 physicians, 217 midwives, 92 paediatric nurses and 47 paediatric healthcare assistants) participated. Although most (89.86%) discussed oral health with parents, responses on when a child should first see a dentist and when toothbrushing should start varied. Almost half of respondents said they could diagnose caries but not all were confident in this. Aetiological factors in ECC mentioned included oral hygiene, bottle feeding, sugar intake, genetics and a lack of fluoride. Conclusion: Non-dental practitioners lack knowledge about ECC, so cannot help prevent it. Initiatives including interprofessional training would improve their knowledge of oral health in early childhood.


2021 ◽  
pp. 002203452098296
Author(s):  
L.H. Heimisdottir ◽  
B.M. Lin ◽  
H. Cho ◽  
A. Orlenko ◽  
A.A. Ribeiro ◽  
...  

Dental caries is characterized by a dysbiotic shift at the biofilm–tooth surface interface, yet comprehensive biochemical characterizations of the biofilm are scant. We used metabolomics to identify biochemical features of the supragingival biofilm associated with early childhood caries (ECC) prevalence and severity. The study’s analytical sample comprised 289 children ages 3 to 5 (51% with ECC) who attended public preschools in North Carolina and were enrolled in a community-based cross-sectional study of early childhood oral health. Clinical examinations were conducted by calibrated examiners in community locations using International Caries Detection and Classification System (ICDAS) criteria. Supragingival plaque collected from the facial/buccal surfaces of all primary teeth in the upper-left quadrant was analyzed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Associations between individual metabolites and 18 clinical traits (based on different ECC definitions and sets of tooth surfaces) were quantified using Brownian distance correlations (dCor) and linear regression modeling of log2-transformed values, applying a false discovery rate multiple testing correction. A tree-based pipeline optimization tool (TPOT)–machine learning process was used to identify the best-fitting ECC classification metabolite model. There were 503 named metabolites identified, including microbial, host, and exogenous biochemicals. Most significant ECC-metabolite associations were positive (i.e., upregulations/enrichments). The localized ECC case definition (ICDAS ≥1 caries experience within the surfaces from which plaque was collected) had the strongest correlation with the metabolome (dCor P = 8 × 10−3). Sixteen metabolites were significantly associated with ECC after multiple testing correction, including fucose ( P = 3.0 × 10−6) and N-acetylneuraminate (p = 6.8 × 10−6) with higher ECC prevalence, as well as catechin ( P = 4.7 × 10−6) and epicatechin ( P = 2.9 × 10−6) with lower. Catechin, epicatechin, imidazole propionate, fucose, 9,10-DiHOME, and N-acetylneuraminate were among the top 15 metabolites in terms of ECC classification importance in the automated TPOT model. These supragingival biofilm metabolite findings provide novel insights in ECC biology and can serve as the basis for the development of measures of disease activity or risk assessment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-367
Author(s):  
Chorok Kim ◽  
Jihyun Song

The aim of this study was to identify the association between candidiasis and early childhood caries and to investigate whether the experience of candidiasis or oral candidiasis before age 1 can be considered as a risk factor for early childhood caries.<br/>The database used in this study was provided by Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Medical records of children born from January 2010 to December 2012 were obtained, and those without dental records were excluded. Subjects were divided into several groups based on the experience of candidiasis or oral candidiasis before age 6: candidiasis group and non-candidiasis group; oral candidiasis group and non-oral candidiasis group. Another categorization was done according to the experience of candidiasis or oral candidiasis before age 1. The incidence rate of early childhood caries in each group were compared.<br/>The prevalence of dental caries in children who have been diagnosed with candidiasis or oral candidiasis before age 6 was significantly different from those who have not experienced candidiasis. Similarly, children who have suffered from candidiasis or oral candidiasis before age 1 had significantly different incidence of caries from the children without candidiasis experience.


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