Anterior tooth crowding and prevalence of dental caries in children in Szczecin, Poland.
OBJECTIVE
To test the effect of anterior tooth crowding on dental caries in Polish patients with primary, mixed and permanent dentition.


METHODS
Dental examinations based on WHO criteria and questionnaire surveys were performed on 225 children from Poland selected by stratified random sampling. The mean dmft/DMFT scores were recorded for primary, mixed and permanent dentition. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify associations between caries prevalence and other possible caries risk factors including crowding.


RESULTS
The study population had high overall caries prevalence. Both caries prevalence and DMFT in anterior teeth of 15-19 year old adolescents with crowding were higher than in those without crowding. Multivariate analysis showed that the risk factors associated with anterior caries prevalence in patients aged 15-19 years were crowding (OR 3.71) and tooth brushing twice a day or less without interdental cleaning (OR 2.15).


CONCLUSIONS
Tooth crowding may have been associated with anterior caries experienced in children aged 15-19 years and must be taken into consideration as a caries risk indicator.
Department of Conservative Dentistry, Pomeranian Medical University, Szczecin, Poland.
J
J
Buczkowska-Radlinska
L
L
Szyszka-Sommerfeld
K
K
Wozniak
D000293:Adolescent; D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003742:Dental Devices, Home Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003818:Dentition, Mixed; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education; D011044:Poland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous / Q000473:pathology; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014100:Toothpastes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D014100:Toothpastes; D005459:Fluorides