Reported infant feeding, oral hygiene and dental attendance patterns in children aged 5 years and under referred for extraction of teeth under general anaesthesia.
This study was designed to examine reported infant feeding, oral hygiene, and dental attendance practices in children who had established dental disease before attaining school age. Data were collected by structured interview from the mothers of 150 children aged 5 years and under who were referred to a hospital Paediatric Dentistry Unit for the extraction of teeth under general anaesthesia. Few children in this study had been exclusively breast-fed, and, although unconfirmed by data derived from matched caries-free controls, the development of dental caries would appear to be related to prolonged bottle-feeding, including the use of a night-time bottle until just before weaning, the early introduction and regular consumption of larger than average amounts of confectionery, coupled with reportedly regular but unsupervised toothbrushing. Although decay was already established in over a third of children before they visited a dentist for the first time, little evidence of restorative care was found. It would appear that the primary care services fail this youngest age-group.
Hunter
M L
ML
Paediatric Dentistry Unit, Dental School, University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, U.K.
Hood
C A
CA
Hunter
B
B
Kingdon
A
A
D000367:Age Factors; D000766:Anesthesia, Dental; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002182:Candy / Q000009:adverse effects; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D014081:Tooth Extraction; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data