[Perinatal risk factors of the early childhood caries]

[Prevalence, intensity, and efficacy of dental caries treatment in pre-school children living in the town of Khimki]

THE AIM OF THE STUDY

Was to assess the prevalence, intensity, and treatment efficacy of dental caries in children aged 3 to 6 years residents of the town of Khimki, Moscow region. The number of decayed, filled, and missed due to caries teeth was registered. The parents were interviewed in order to reveal dental caries treatment experience as well as reasons for negative experience, age of the first dental office visit and the reasons for it.

RESULTS

The incidence of dental caries in 3-6 years old living in Khimki is 52%. The prevalence and incidence unsurprisingly grow with age as well as the number of children having the experience of toothache and early extractions. The vast majority of children including these with positive dental treatment experience have untreated carious lesions. The difference of decayed teeth between children having negative and positive treatment experience in statistically insignificant (p=0.57), and the number of filling is equally small in both subgroups (p=0.99). This means even cooperative children who underwent dental treatment have untreated (or previously treated but having no fillings - in 22.6% of treatment cases) cavities.

CONCLUSION

The dental caries intensity growth outpaces the possibilities of the Khimky dental service resulting in the low number of caries-free previously treated children (17.9% of all treated). All this dictates the necessity for dental caries prevention programs and implementation of new models for dental care organization in preschool children.

[Child's weight as a risk factor for early childhood caries]

THE AIM OF THE STUDY

Was to reveal possible correlation between child's birth weight, BMI at examination, dental caries prevalence and intensity.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study comprised 220 healthy children aged 3-6 born mature and attending nursery schools in Khimky city (Moscow region, Russia). Data on birth weight were extracted from a healthcare reports database, current height and weight were measured and BMI was calculated and interpreted according to WHO criteria. Calibrated pediatric dentists performed oral examination registering the dmft index.

RESULTS

Children suffering from dental caries at the age of 3-6, have lower birth weight and struggle to put it on later in life. This results in higher proportion of children with underweight. Among children with caries 69.2% had BMI lower than 15^th percentile, and 28.3% had very low IMT (lower than 5^th percentile) vs 5.6% in the group without caries (p<0.05). The mechanisms and the direction of this correlation are unclear.

CONCLUSION

There is a necessity for further investigations on the role of various factors associated with body weight and alimentary status in the development of the early childhood caries.