Contemporary Clinical Dentistry (Jan 2015)

Prevalence of early childhood caries among preschool children in Trivandrum and its association with various risk factors

  • Sobha Kuriakose,
  • Meenu Prasannan,
  • K C Remya,
  • Joy Kurian,
  • K R Sreejith

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/0976-237X.149295
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 69 – 73

Abstract

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Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a severe form of dental decay with multi-factorial origin. Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence and related risk factors of ECC among preschool children residing in rural and urban areas of Trivandrum district in Kerala. Methods: A sample size of 1329 preschool children of <60 months of age was randomly selected from rural and urban areas of Trivandrum and decayed missing filled teeth indices were recorded. A standardized questionnaire was distributed to the parents. The data were subjected to SPSS version 16 and statistically analyzed with Chi-square test. Results: Prevalence of ECC in the study sample was found to be 54%. Furthermore, a positive association was obtained between ECC and age of the child, location of residence, dietary habits, and oral hygiene habits. Conclusion: There is an urgent need to implement preventive and curative oral health programs for preschool children in rural and urban areas.

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