Original scientific paper
Factors Predisposing to Early Childhood Caries (ECC) in Children of Pre-School Age in the City of Zagreb, Croatia
O. Lulić-Dukić
H. Jurić
W. Dukić
D. Glavina
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate factors predisposing to early childhood caries
(ECC) in pre-school children in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. The investigation was
carried out on the sample of 145 children (77 boys and 68 girls) aged between 2 and 5
years, including clinical examination of dental status and survey on the habits among
the parents. The overall prevalence of ECC was 30%: in girls it was 25%, and in boys
48%. The study on the risk factors was designed as a classic case-control study. The
mean value of dmfs index among the cases amounted to 8.6, in comparison to 5.2 in the
control group (p<0.05). Bottle-feeding did not represent a significant risk, but night
consumption of sweet beverages after first 24 months and the lack of introduction of
teeth-brushing habit after first 24 months did (p<0.001 for both predictors). The study
revealed the importance of early introduction of teeth-brushing and giving up the nightly
consumption of sweet beverages in prevention of ECC.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
28338
URI
Publication date:
18.6.2001.
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