Departments of Public Health Dentistry, Government Dental College, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, India.
Indian J Dent Res. 2022 Jul-Sep;33(3):297-300. doi: 10.4103/ijdr.ijdr_128_21.
Early childhood caries (ECC), which results in rapid involvement and progression of several teeth, is a growing concern in preschool children. It directly affects a child's overall health and quality of life.
To assess the prevalence and determinants of ECC among children enrolled in Anganwadi centres in Bhilai city of Chhattisgarh.
This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 360 children enrolled in Anganwadi of Bhilai. An oral examination and findings were recorded in 'dmft' using the WHO oral health assessment form for children 2013. The mothers' knowledge, attitude, and practice were determined by a professionally administered 10-item pre-tested short questionnaire with Cronbach's alpha of 0.86. The data were compiled and analysed using Microsoft Excel vs. 2013 and Statistical Package of Social Science (IBM SPSS version 23; Chicago Inc., USA).
The prevalence of ECC was 25.83%, out of which 13.33% in boys and 12.50% in girls. Children of middle school-educated mothers have 35.48% ECC, followed by high school and primary school, that is, 24.73 and 23.66, respectively. Mothers who assisted the children in tooth brushing have less prevalence of ECC (8.15%) as compared to non-assisted (17.8%) (P = 0.044).
Although mothers' knowledge was appreciable regarding reasons for tooth decay, still 1/4 of the children were found to be affected by ECC. This necessitates the importance of regular/periodic screening campaigns for the children, implementing institutional preventive programmes, and referral for children to secondary/tertiary healthcare centres.
幼儿龋齿（ECC）会导致多个牙齿迅速受累和进展，是学龄前儿童日益关注的问题。它直接影响儿童的整体健康和生活质量。
评估恰蒂斯加尔邦比莱市安格安瓦迪中心儿童 ECC 的患病率和决定因素。
这是一项在比莱市安格安瓦迪中心注册的 360 名儿童中进行的描述性横断面研究。使用世界卫生组织 2013 年儿童口腔健康评估表，以“dmft”记录口腔检查和结果。通过专业管理的 10 项预测试短问卷评估母亲的知识、态度和实践，克朗巴赫 α系数为 0.86。使用 Microsoft Excel vs. 2013 和社会科学统计软件包（IBM SPSS 版本 23；芝加哥，美国）编译和分析数据。
ECC 的患病率为 25.83%，其中男孩为 13.33%，女孩为 12.50%。中学教育程度母亲的孩子有 35.48%的 ECC，其次是高中和小学，分别为 24.73%和 23.66%。与未协助（17.8%）相比，协助孩子刷牙的母亲的 ECC 患病率较低（8.15%）（P = 0.044）。
尽管母亲对龋齿原因的知识有所了解，但仍有 1/4 的儿童受到 ECC 的影响。这需要定期/定期为儿童进行筛查活动，实施机构预防计划，并将儿童转介到二级/三级保健中心。
