title: Association of maternal-child characteristics as a factor in early childhood caries and salivary bacterial counts.
abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the caries-related microorganisms in saliva and the prevalence of Early childhood caries (ECC) in 15- to 35-month-old Turkish children and their associations with the characteristics of the mothers, socioeconomic criteria, and feeding habits of the children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Saliva samples of 101 children were studied to determine the numbers of Streptococcus mutans, lactobacilli, and Candida albicans. A questionnaire regarding the characteristics of the mothers, socioeconomic criteria, and feeding habits of the children was carried out before the dental examinations of the mother-child pairs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The regression analyses revealed DMFS scores of the mothers as an impact factor for the children's caries experience. The prolonged usage of feeding bottle with sweetened milk, pacifier use, and maternal sharing were strongly associated with the colonization of S. mutans, lactobacilli, and C. albicans, respectively. A significant correlation was also found between maternal education and S. mutans.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data indicated that the mother's DMFS scores, education, and feeding habits were strong risk indicators for the colonization of caries-related micro-organisms and ECC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Ege University, Bornova-Izmir, Turkey. nazan.ersin@ege.edu.tr
authors.forename: Nazan Kocatas
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Ersin
authors.forename: Nesrin
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eronat
authors.forename: Dilsah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cogulu
authors.forename: Atac
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Uzel
authors.forename: Sadik
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aksit
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification* / Q000382:microbiology; D003774:Dental Plaque Index; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007225:Infant Food; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008297:Male; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education; D041361:Pacifiers; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology*; D012923:Social Class; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification