title: Problematic eating and its association with early childhood caries among 46-71-month-old children using Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ): a cross sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Problematic eating behavior in children presents a wide spectrum from anorexia, selective eating, and fussy eating to neophobia. Pouching of food and slow eating represents eating behavioral problems that may be relevant to pediatric dentist as far as early childhood caries (ECC) is concerned.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of problematic eating and its association with ECC among 46-71-month-old children in Bengaluru city, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out in 250 children aged 46-71 months old in various schools of Bengaluru city.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the selected children were clinically examined for dental caries using decayed, missing, filled surfaces index. Children's eating behavior was assessed using Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) which was filled by the parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Both descriptive statistics as well as Chi-square test was used with SPSS 16.00.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of dental caries was found to be 34%. It was observed that 81.6% of the children did not have a tendency to keep food in their mouth all the time and ECC was found to be significantly less. Furthermore, approximately 90% of the children did not have a tendency to eat too much and in those, 68% of them were caries free which was statistically significant. Prevalence of ECC was highest (52.6%) in children who ate more when they had nothing else to do.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Problematic eating behavior is prevalent in the preschooler group and needs to be considered by the pediatric dentist.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Sciences, MSRUAS, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Latha
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Anandakrishna
authors.forename: Neha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bhargav
authors.forename: Amitha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hegde
authors.forename: Prakash
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chandra
authors.forename: Dhananjaya
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gaviappa
authors.forename: Ashmitha Kishan
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Shetty
mesh_terms: D001290:Attitude; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004327:Drinking Behavior; D004644:Emotions; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012528:Satiety Response; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires