Prolonged pacifier-sucking and use of a nursing bottle at night: possible risk factors for dental caries in children.
At the baseline of this cohort study we determined risk factors for colonization of oral lactobacilli and candida in a group of children (n = 166) whose mean age was 2.5 years. The results showed that pacifier-sucking and the use of a nursing bottle at night increase the occurrence of both salivary lactobacilli and candida. In the present study these children were followed for 2 years, and the progression of caries was recorded with particular reference to the etiologic factors measured before. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed prolonged pacifier-sucking (> or = 24 months) to be a significant risk factor for caries development in children, with a rather high relative risk (RR) of 3.5 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.5-8.2; P= 0.003). Prolonged use of a nursing bottle at night (> or = 24 months) was also a risk factor, but less significant than pacifier-sucking (RR, 2.6; CI, 1.1-6.4; P= 0.03). On the grounds of this study we conclude that prolonged pacifier-sucking (> or = 2 years) and use of a nursing bottle at night are risk factors for dental caries in children.
Department of Preventive Dentistry and Cariology, Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, Finland.
P
P
Ollila
M
M
Niemelä
M
M
Uhari
M
M
Larmas
D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects; D002175:Candida / Q000254:growth & development; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007224:Infant Care; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000254:growth & development; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D013391:Sucking Behavior / Q000502:physiology*