Vachirarojpisan Thongchai, Shinada Kayoko, Kawaguchi Yoko, Laungwechakan Pimolphan, Somkote Tewarit, Detsomboonrat Palinee
Department of Oral Health Promotion, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2004 Apr;32(2):133-42. doi: 10.1111/j.0301-5661.2004.00145.x.
To investigate the relationship between socioeconomic factors, behaviors and the severity of early childhood caries (ECC) in 6-19 month-old Thai children. The severity of ECC was estimated using the proportion of ECC teeth to erupted teeth. This was termed the 'Intensity of ECC' (I-ECC) index.
Cross-sectional questionnaire survey, dental examinations, and mutans streptococci counts were obtained from children and mothers/caregivers who participated in the ECC prevention program.
The 520 children from rural areas were categorized into four age groups by the mean number of erupted teeth. In the 15-19-month-old children, the prevalence of ECC was 82.8% (cavitated caries, 40.8%; noncavitated caries, 42.0%) with a mean ECC teeth score of 4.18 +/- 3.19. The mean I-ECC severity score was 0.45 +/- 0.30 in these toddlers. Children from low-income families, those with low education, and mothers/caregivers with decayed teeth had higher I-ECC scores (P < 0.05). Children who were breast fed or had high counts of mutans streptococci also had higher I-ECC scores (P < 0.05). The logistic regression model revealed that only children's mutans streptococci level was a statistically significant predictor of ECC, with an odds ratio = 4.5 (95% CI = 1.8, 11.7).
ECC is not only a public health problem but also a social problem in Thailand, because it relates to family income and education level. The community development approach to assisting disadvantaged Thai children should be combined with an effective preventive program at a very young age. Future longitudinal research should be performed to improve the I-ECC for measuring the severity of ECC.
调查泰国6至19个月大儿童的社会经济因素、行为与早期儿童龋（ECC）严重程度之间的关系。使用ECC患牙数与萌出牙齿数的比例来评估ECC的严重程度。这被称为“ECC强度”（I-ECC）指数。
对参与ECC预防项目的儿童及其母亲/照顾者进行横断面问卷调查、口腔检查和变形链球菌计数。
来自农村地区的520名儿童根据平均萌出牙齿数分为四个年龄组。在15至19个月大的儿童中，ECC患病率为82.8%（龋洞性龋，40.8%；非龋洞性龋，42.0%），平均ECC患牙评分为4.18±3.19。这些幼儿的平均I-ECC严重程度评分为0.45±0.30。低收入家庭的儿童、教育程度低的儿童以及牙齿有龋坏的母亲/照顾者的I-ECC评分更高（P<0.05）。母乳喂养或变形链球菌计数高的儿童的I-ECC评分也更高（P<0.05）。逻辑回归模型显示，只有儿童的变形链球菌水平是ECC的统计学显著预测因素，优势比=4.5（95%CI=1.8，11.7）。
在泰国，ECC不仅是一个公共卫生问题，也是一个社会问题，因为它与家庭收入和教育水平有关。帮助处境不利的泰国儿童的社区发展方法应与非常年幼时的有效预防项目相结合。未来应进行纵向研究以改进I-ECC来测量ECC的严重程度。
