CICECO, Aveiro Institute of Materials (CICECO/UA), Department of Chemistry, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry Department, Institute of Paediatric and Preventive Dentistry, University of Coimbra, 3000-075, Coimbra, Portugal.
Eur Arch Paediatr Dent. 2021 Jun;22(3):399-408. doi: 10.1007/s40368-020-00568-0. Epub 2020 Oct 10.
To assess the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) and associated factors among a 5-year-old cohort.
An observational longitudinal study was conducted with a sample of 142 preschoolers. A calibrated dentist performed intraoral examinations following International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS-II) criteria at baseline and after 6 months. A questionnaire on sociodemographic variables and oral health-related behaviours was answered by caregivers. Statistical analysis included descriptive statistics and computation of confidence intervals (95% confidence level).
Baseline prevalence of ECC and severe ECC (S-ECC) were 40.1% and 11.3%, respectively. After 6 months ECC and S-ECC prevalence rates were 46.5%, and 13.2%, respectively. At both evaluations most caries lesions were untreated. Parental education and occupation were significantly associated with ECC. Behaviour variables found to be significantly associated with the disease comprised: establishing toothbrushing habits before the first year, toothbrushing twice daily and with parental assistance, frequency of dental visits, age at first dental visits, daily ingestion of sweets and number of daily meals.
The prevalence of ECC was very high, with most of the lesions left untreated. ECC experience was associated with participants' socioeconomic background and several of the surveyed oral health-related behaviour variables.
评估一个 5 岁儿童队列中幼儿龋（ECC）的患病率及其相关因素。
对 142 名学龄前儿童进行了一项观察性纵向研究。基线和 6 个月后，由一名经过校准的牙医根据国际龋病检测和评估系统（ICDAS-II）标准进行口腔内检查。看护人回答了一份关于社会人口统计学变量和口腔健康相关行为的问卷。统计分析包括描述性统计和置信区间（95%置信水平）的计算。
基线时 ECC 和重度 ECC（S-ECC）的患病率分别为 40.1%和 11.3%。6 个月后，ECC 和 S-ECC 的患病率分别为 46.5%和 13.2%。在两次评估中，大多数龋齿都未经治疗。父母的教育和职业与 ECC 显著相关。与疾病显著相关的行为变量包括：在第一年之前养成刷牙习惯、每天刷牙两次并在父母的帮助下刷牙、看牙医的频率、第一次看牙医的年龄、每天摄入甜食的频率和每天用餐的次数。
ECC 的患病率非常高，大多数病变未经治疗。ECC 的患病经历与参与者的社会经济背景以及一些被调查的口腔健康相关行为变量有关。
