title: Factors predisposing to early childhood caries (ECC) in children of pre-school age in the city of Zagreb, Croatia.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate factors predisposing to early childhood caries (ECC) in pre-school children in the city of Zagreb, Croatia. The investigation was carried out on the sample of 145 children (77 boys and 68 girls) aged between 2 and 5 years, including clinical examination of dental status and survey on the habits among the parents. The overall prevalence of ECC was 30%: in girls it was 25%, and in boys 48%. The study on the risk factors was designed as a classic case-control study. The mean value of dmfs index among the cases amounted to 8.6, in comparison to 5.2 in the control group (p<0.05). Bottle-feeding did not represent a significant risk, but night consumption of sweet beverages after first 24 months and the lack of introduction of teeth-brushing habit after first 24 months did (p < 0.001 for both predictors). The study revealed the importance of early introduction of teeth-brushing and giving up the nightly consumption of sweet beverages in prevention of ECC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lulić-Dukić
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Jurić
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dukić
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Glavina
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D014099:Toothbrushing; D014505:Urban Population