title: Diet and caries-associated bacteria in severe early childhood caries.
abstract: Frequent consumption of cariogenic foods and bacterial infection are risk factors for early childhood caries (ECC). This study hypothesized that a short diet survey focused on frequency of foods, categorized by putative cariogenicity, would differentiate severe ECC (S-ECC) from caries-free children. Children's diets were obtained by survey and plaque bacteria detected by PCR from 72 S-ECC and 38 caries-free children. S-ECC children had higher scores for between-meal juice (p < 0.01), solid-retentive foods (p < 0.001), eating frequency (p < 0.005), and estimated food cariogenicity (p < 0.0001) than caries-free children. S-ECC children with lesion recurrence ate fewer putative caries-protective foods than children without new lesions. Streptococcus mutans (p < 0.005), Streptococcus sobrinus (p < 0.005), and Bifidobacteria (p < 0.0001) were associated with S-ECC, and S. mutans with S. sobrinus was associated with lesion recurrence (p < 0.05). S. mutans-positive children had higher food cariogenicity scores. Food frequency, putative cariogenicity, and S. mutans were associated with S-ECC individually and in combination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Community Service, Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Palmer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kent
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Loo
authors.forename: C V
authors.initials: CV
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Stutius
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pradhan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dahlan
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kanasi
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Arevalo Vasquez
authors.forename: A C R
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Tanner
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages; D001644:Bifidobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology; D004032:Diet; D004037:Diet, Cariogenic; D004326:Drinking; D004327:Drinking Behavior; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005502:Food; D005638:Fruit; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016986:Streptococcus sobrinus / Q000302:isolation & purification