title: Carious lesions and caries risk predictors in a group of Swedish children 2 to 3 years of age. One year  observation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Identification of potential carious risk criteria, retrospectively at 2 years of age, for developing carious lesions  at 3 years of age. Study design Longitudinal observations from 2 until 3 years of age. Cross-sectional observations of two  cohorts of 3- year-olds with different approaches.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group consisted of 78 three- year- olds from a previous study at age 2 years.  Clinical examination, diet history, questions regarding breastfeeding and salivary  sampling for mutans streptococci (MS) were performed at both ages. The previous study on 124 three-year-olds was used as  a control group for comparison of the 3-year-olds in the longitudinal study group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The examinations suggested  the following risk predictors: carious lesions, frequent intake of selected sugar-containing products, breastfeeding at night  and MS, which covered all children with lesions at 3 years of age, resulting in a positive predictive value of 32% and a  negative predictive value of 100%. The only statistically significant difference between the two groups of 3-year-olds  was the reported intake of sugar-containing items. Statistics Student's t-test and chi square test, completed by Fischer's  exact test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The combination of the suggested risk criteria was predictive of carious lesions. In spite of  individual parental information, new lesions developed after one year. Based on observations, a more structured and  monitored preventive approach is suggested.
authors.affiliation: Public Dental Health Service Kungälv, Public Dental Health, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bankel
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Köhler
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding / Q000009:adverse effects; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose