Rampant early childhood dental decay: an example from Italy.
OBJECTIVE
This study sought to estimate the prevalence and related prediction factors for dental caries in 3- to 5-year-old children in Rome, Italy.


METHODS
From a sample of 2,025 children, 1,494 (73.8%) were included in the analysis. Children with at least two primary maxillary incisors showing evidence of caries experience were considered affected by rampant early childhood dental decay (RECDD). Behavioral and socioeconomic variables, mutans streptococci counts, diet, and nutritional status were investigated for their association with RECDD using regression analysis.


RESULTS
The prevalence of any caries was 27.3 percent, and was 7.6 percent for RECDD. Among all children, mean dft and dt scores per person were 1.1 (SD = 2.4) and 0.9 (SD = 2.3), respectively; among those classified as having RECDD, scores were 6.9 (SD = 4.2) and 6.7 (SD = 4.3), respectively. Children with RECDD had 56 percent of all the decayed teeth in the sample. Low and medium social classes, use of a baby bottle filled with sweetened beverages, high salivary mutans streptococcal levels, and malnutrition were directly associated with RECDD; milk and yogurt consumption and low Plaque Index scores were inversely associated with the condition.


CONCLUSIONS
The high prevalence of RECDD suggests that the implementation of preventive programs should be a priority for dental public health. Because of its high prevalence among children as young as 3 years of age, preventive measures targeted toward pregnant women and toddlers should be developed and tested, while kindergarten students could be used for monitoring RECDD prevalence and for detection of communities at risk.
Petti
S
S
Sanarelli Hygiene Institute, La Sapienza University, Rome, Italy. stefano.petti@uniroma1.it
Cairella
G
G
Tarsitani
G
G
D000818:Animals; D001628:Beverages; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004032:Diet; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D015438:Health Behavior; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D006292:Health Priorities; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D015995:Prevalence; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012384:Rome / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000254:growth & development; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous; D015014:Yogurt
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates