Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Feb 11;24(1):218.
doi: 10.1186/s12903-024-04004-3.

Evaluation of possible associated factors for early childhood caries: are preterm birth and birth weight related?

Merve Bilmez Selen  1 , Pınar Demir  2 , Feyza Inceoglu  3
Affiliations

Evaluation of possible associated factors for early childhood caries: are preterm birth and birth weight related?

Merve Bilmez Selen et al. BMC Oral Health. .

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the oral and dental health of preschool children aged 12-71 months living in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, and to examine the effects of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm, early term and term birth on dental caries.

Methods: 475 participants were included in the study. Intraoral examinations were performed and evaluated for the presence of early childhood caries (ECC). These values ​​are; Relationships such as age, gender, birth weight, week of birth, tooth brushing frequency, cariogenic nutrition, and parental education levels were examined. The obtained data were analyzed statistically (chi-square, t-test, artificial neural network (ANN)).

Results: Of the 475 participants, whose parents agreed to fill out the questionnaire, 250 were female and 225 were male. While the mean age was 49.78 ± 14.78 months for those with ECC, it was 38.93 ± 17.96 months for those without. Higher duration of breastfeeding (p = 0.04), education level of parents (p = 0.001), lower socioeconomic level (p = 0.001), and lower brushing frequency (p = 0.001) were also found to be significantly associated with ECC. ECC was seen in 90% of 77 children with a history of preterm birth. In LBW, this rate was 83%. According to the ANN result, in preterm birth; 12.9% affected ECC by LBW.

Conclusion: According to the results of our study, both LBW and preterm delivery were found to be associated with ECC and S-ECC (severe early childhood caries). An additional study on parents of preterm/LBW infants would be beneficial. In the early period, regular dental examination, implementation of preventive and preventive treatments, and nutrition education to parents can make a significant difference in the prevention of ECC.

Keywords: Birth weight; Dental caries; Infant; Low birth weight; Premature birth; Term birth.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Author Merve Bilmez Selen, Pinar Demir, and Feyza Inceoglu declare that they have no conflict of interest.

The authors declare no competing interests.

References

    1. American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry . Perinatal and infant oral health care. The reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry. Chicago, Ill: American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry; 2023. pp. 312–6.
    1. Ngoc VTN, Chu D-T, Le D-H. Prevalence of early childhood caries and its related risk factors in preschoolers: result from a cross sectional study in Vietnam. Pediatr dent j. 2017;27(2):79–84. doi: 10.1016/j.pdj.2017.03.001. - DOI
    1. Holve S, Braun P, Irvine JD, Nadeau K, Schroth RJ, Bell SL, et al. Early childhood caries in indigenous communities. Paediatr Child Health. 2021;26(4):255–6. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxab023. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olatosi O, Inem V, Sofola O, Prakash P, Sote E. The prevalence of early childhood caries and its associated risk factors among preschool children referred to a tertiary care institution. Niger j clin Pract. 2015;18(4):493–501. doi: 10.4103/1119-3077.156887. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Twetman S, Boustedt K, Roswall J, Dahlgren J. Systematic review suggests a relationship between moderate to late preterm birth and early childhood caries. Acta Paediatr. 2020;109(12):2472–8. doi: 10.1111/apa.15424. - DOI - PubMed