title: Assessing risk indicators for dental caries in the primary dentition.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to assess indicators shown to be associated with the prevalence of caries in the primary dentition of 7-year-old Flemish schoolchildren. Cross-sectional first year data of the longitudinal Signal-Tandmobiel survey were analysed (n=4468). Gender, age, oral hygiene habits, use of fluorides, dietary habits, geographical factors and parental modelling were the considered predictors. From the multiple logistic regression analysis, including schools as a random effect, and after adjusting for the confounding variables-educational system and province (stratification variables), gender and age-it became clear that the following risk indicators remained significant (at 5% level) for the presence of caries: frequency of toothbrushing (P=0.05) with an OR 1.24 for brushing less than once a day, age at start of brushing (P<0.001) with an OR=1.22 for a delay of 1 year, regular use of fluoride supplements (P<0.001) with an OR=1.54 for no use, daily use of sugar-containing drinks between meals (P<0.001) with an OR=1.38, and number of between-meals snacks (P=0.012) with an OR=1.22 for using more than 2 between-meal snacks. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in caries experience determined by the geographical spread, with an explicit trend of caries declining from the east to the west. In a model with an ordinal response outcome, the daily use of sugar-containing drinks between meals had a more pronounced effect when caries levels were high. From this study it became obvious that, in Flemish children, an early start of brushing and a brushing frequency of at least once a day need to be encouraged, while the use of sugar-containing drinks and snacks between meals needs to be restricted to a maximum of 2 per day. Geographical differences need to be investigated in more detail.
authors.affiliation: Dept. Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Ghent, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. jacques.vanobbergen@rug.ac.be
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vanobbergen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martens
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lesaffre
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bogaerts
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Declerck
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001530:Belgium; D001628:Beverages; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D015986:Confounding Factors, Epidemiologic; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology*; D003733:Dental Caries Susceptibility; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004493:Education; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology*; D014099:Toothbrushing
chemical_list: D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D005459:Fluorides