title: Caries experience and related factors in 4-6 year-olds attending dental clinics in Kinshasa, DR of Congo.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and severity of caries experience (CE) in 4-6 year-olds attending dental clinics in Kinshasa, DR Congo, and to explore possible associations with reported behavioural and socio-demographic factors.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of children attending five dental clinics was recruited. Carers, usually parents, completed a questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic information, oral health and tobacco consumption profile of parents, socio-economic family situation and oral health habits of the child. Children were clinically examined using WHO criteria by trained dentist-examiners. To investigate factors associated with CE, multivariate logistic regression was applied with the significance level set at 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Some 158 children with mean age 5.3 (sd 0.7) years were recruited; 80% presented with clinical signs of CE. Between-meal snacking and drinking was reported by 78% and 65%; 35% had sugar-containing drinks. Most (81%) brushed once a day and 82% brushed in the morning. Prevalence of CE was associated with gender, frequency of meals, consumption of drinks during meals and consumption of sugar-containing drinks; severity with type of infant feeding and sugar-content of the last meal at night.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study shows that both prevalence and severity of caries experience were associated with reported dietary habits, confirming the importance of preventive interventions dealing with these habits in young children living in a developing country.
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Dentistry, University Clinics of Kinshasa, University of Kinshasa, DR Congo. songobauk2002@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Songo
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences KU Leuven and Paediatric Dentistry and Special Dental Care, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Declerck
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences KU Leuven and Paediatric Dentistry and Special Dental Care, University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vinckier
authors.affiliation: L-BioStat, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Mbuyi
authors.affiliation: Paediatric Dentistry and Special Dental Care, School of Dentistry and Stomatology, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Pilipili
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Kinshasa, DR Congo.
authors.forename: K P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Kayembe
mesh_terms: D001628:Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D015023:Democratic Republic of the Congo / Q000453:epidemiology; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D003740:Dental Clinics; D003906:Developing Countries; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000009:adverse effects; D004522:Educational Status; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D062410:Snacks; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D019422:Dietary Sucrose