A descriptive study of early caries and oral health habits of Inuit pre-schoolers: preliminary results.
Despite reports describing the high incidence of baby bottle tooth decay (BBTD) in North American native populations, very little is known about the factors influencing dental health at such an early age. Furthermore, true prevalence figures are usually difficult to obtain because few studies have attempted to survey the whole population. The purpose of this project is to determine the true prevalence of nursing caries in the Kativik region and describe oral health determinants in relation to the dental status of these children. At this time, 244 children aged two to five years have been surveyed. The results indicate that baby bottle tooth decay occur in 72.2% of this young population.
Hudson Bay Hospital Center, Povungnituk, School of Dentistry, Laval University, Quebec Projet-Nord, DSC-CHUL, Quebec, Canada.
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Houde
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Gagnon
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St-Germain
D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D004930:Inuit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D015995:Prevalence; D011792:Quebec / Q000453:epidemiology