title: Caries development in children from 1.5 to 3 years of age: a longitudinal study.
abstract: This study was designed as a prospective clinical caries prevalence study starting with children at 1.5 years of age. The subjects were 374 children who were born between 1989 and 1991. All subjects visited a public health center in Kunitachi-city, Tokyo, at 1.5 years, 2 years, and 3 years of age. All the children and parents have followed preventive dental care guidance. Dental caries were always examined by one of the authors. The caries prevalences at 1.5 years, 2 years, and 3 years of age were 6.1%, 14.7%, and 31.8%, respectively. The mean dft at 3 years of age in children who developed caries before 2 years of age was significantly greater than that in children caries free at 2 years of age. The findings from the current study showed that children who develop caries before 2 years of age are at greater risk for dental caries.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yonezu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Machida
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014041:Tokyo / Q000453:epidemiology; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous