title: Child temperament and risk factors for early childhood caries.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between a mother's perception of her child's temperament and the child's risk factors for early childhood caries (ECC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Data was collected from 629 records of children ages 0 to 4 who were patients of the University of Iowa's Infant Oral Health Program. Data included: (1) maternal report of child's temperament; (2) knowledge of ECC; (3) dietary and oral hygiene habits; and (4) clinical evidence of cavitated and noncavitated lesions and visible plaque on maxillary incisors. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bivariate analyses showed that children reported as "easy" were more likely to: (1) be younger (P=.001); (2) be breast-fed to sleep (P=.046); (3) be breast-fed throughout the night (P=.012); and (4) have their teeth brushed twice daily (P=.006). Children reported as "difficult" were more likely to: (1) be bottle-fed to sleep (P=.002); and (2) have noncavitated lesions (P=.044). Final logistic regression analysis indicated that children perceived as "easy" were more likely to breast-fed throughout the night (odds ratio [OR]= 1.77; P=.016), while those perceived as "difficult" were more likely to be bottle-fed to sleep (OR=1.74; P=.016).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal reported child temperament may be related to important early childhood caries risk factors.
authors.affiliation: College of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, University of Iowa, Iowa City, USA.
authors.forename: Amanda Seiser
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Spitz
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weber-Gasparoni
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kanellis
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology; D003733:Dental Caries Susceptibility; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000145:classification; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007180:Incisor / Q000473:pathology; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D012307:Risk Factors; D012890:Sleep; D013694:Temperament / Q000145:classification*; D014099:Toothbrushing