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. 2019 Feb 18;19(1):34.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-019-0721-9.

Risk factors of early childhood caries (ECC) among children in Beijing - a prospective cohort study

Can Can Fan  1   2 , Wen Hui Wang  1 , Tao Xu  3 , Shu Guo Zheng  4
Affiliations

Risk factors of early childhood caries (ECC) among children in Beijing - a prospective cohort study

Can Can Fan et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) was a serious oral health concern with high prevalence and a low treatment rate in China, and few researches have focused on preschool children. This study aimed to explore the risk factors of ECC in Beijing, China.

Methods: Totle of 712 children (mean age: 46.37 ± 5.44 months) participated in this prospective cohort study. Questionnaires and the levels of mutans streptococci in dental plaques and non-stimulated saliva, assessed using Dentocult SM strips, were collected at baseline, respectively. Two calibrated examiners checked for dental caries according to the WHO 1997 criteria at baseline and 1-year follow-up. Negative binomial regression was used for multivariate analysis of factors related to caries development.

Results: For caries-free children at baseline, only plaque mutans streptococci (PMS) levels were associated with caries development (odds ratio [OR] = 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.08-2.61, P = 0.02). Children with high PMS levels (scored 2 and 3) had higher caries incidence (46.2% vs. 33.8%) and more caries increment (1.87 ± 3.17 vs. 0.90 ± 1.89) than those with low levels (scored 0 and 1). Among all participants, PMS (OR = 1.69, 95% CI: 1.32-2.23, P < 0.001) and previous caries experience (OR = 2.80, 95% CI: 2.20-3.56, P < 0.001) were related to caries increment.

Conclusions: For caries-free children, the only significant risk factor for ECC was high PMS levels. For all participants, besides high PMS levels, previous caries experience was another significant risk factor for caries development.

Trial registration: The study design, protocol, and informed consent forms were undertaken with the understanding of Declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the School of Stomatology, Peking University, China (PKUSSIRB-2012042).

Keywords: Early childhood caries; Mutans streptococci; Previous caries experience; Risk factors.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study design, protocol, and informed consent forms were undertaken with the understanding of Declaration of Helsinki and were approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee of the School of Stomatology, Peking University, China (PKUSSIRB -2,012,042). Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Proportion of tooth surfaces of new caries among caries-free children at 1-year follow-up. m: mesial surface; d: distal surface; b: buccal surface; l: lingual surface; o: occlusal surface
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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