Prevalence of early childhood caries in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Abstract

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) poses a major challenge to young children's oral health worldwide. Therefore, it is of interest to explore the prevalence of early childhood (between 3-6 years) caries in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. An oral examination of 460 children, chosen using a random sampling, revealed a 54.78% prevalence of early childhood caries. Data underscore the need for community-based prevention, public health education targeting parents and caregivers through integrating oral health promotion into primary healthcare to combat early childhood caries effectively in Bhubaneswar.

Keywords: Early childhood caries; early childhood caries; prevalence.