Caries experience and oral health behavior in Chinese children with cleft lip and/or palate.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study were to investigate whether there were different caries levels in 3- to 6-year-old Chinese children who had a cleft lip compared to those with a cleft lip/palate. The goal also was to evaluate parental attitudes toward the feeding habits and oral health care for their children.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was carried out through a dental examination of a sample of children and a questionnaire to their parents. A sample of 104 3- to 6-year-old children (66 boys and 38 girls) with cleft lip, cleft palate or both were selected from those receiving pre-surgical treatment. Each child was examined and a short questionnaire was given to parents of the children. The form included questions about infant feeding practices, frequency consumption of specific drinks and, children's toothbrushing frequency.


RESULTS
One hundred and four children were examined. Seventy-five percent had some caries experience and rampant caries was present in 26%. Children with cleft palate had a higher prevalence of rampant caries (30%) compared to those with cleft lip (12%). A multivariate analysis yielded feeding practices and mother's education as the variables significantly associated with caries and rampant caries.


CONCLUSIONS
The results of this study show that: 1. Children with a cleft lip/palate have higher levels of dental caries compared to those with a cleft lip alone; 2. The two most important factors for dental caries were: a. whether the child had been bottle-fed and; b. the educational attainment level of the mother.
Bian
Z
Z
Department of Oral Biology, Wuhan University, China.
Du
M
M
Bedi
R
R
Holt
R
R
Jin
H
H
Fan
M
M
D001903:Bottle Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000150:complications*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000150:complications*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D019422:Dietary Sucrose