Original Research Article
Year: 2019 | Month: October | Volume: 9 | Issue: 10 | Pages: 258-264
The Prevalence of Early Childhood Caries and Its Related Risk Factors among Preschool Children in Makkah, Saudi Arabia
Raghad A. Alsalim1, Majd K. Almatrafi1, Dr Rabab I. Salama2
1Dental Interns, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
2Assistant Professor in Dental Public Health Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
Corresponding Author: Raghad A. Alsalim
ABSTRACT
Background: Dental caries in preschool children is a major dental public health problem. It refers to early childhood caries (ECC) and defined as “the presence of one or more decayed, missing (due to caries), or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth in a child aged less than 6 years”. Early identification of dental caries will provide a chance for identification of children who have a high risk and initiate a preventive intervention for them.
Objective: To determine the prevalence of ECC among preschool children in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, in relation to specific risk factors.
Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia, on 491 healthy preschool children, males and females, aged 3-5 years from public and private nursing schools. The data was collected using a questionnaire and clinical examination. Utilizing the collected data, the ECC risk factors including; demographic criteria, parents educational background, and oral hygiene measures, the frequency and type (fluoridate or non-fluoridate). The total dmft was calculated and ECC was measured according to severness combined with different etiology.
Results: Snack types, milk types, age and mother education the most significant detected risk factors regarding ECC prevalence the chi square (p values) are 52.883 (0.000), 19.333 (0.000), 8.439 (0.013), 12.475 (0.042) respectively. Conclusion: Implementation of educational and prevention programs for expecting parents, pre-pregnant parents and to children starting from 3 years old to raise the awareness regarding the importance of oral hygiene.
Key words: Caries prevalence, Caries risk factor, Early Childhood Caries, dmft