The prevalence of deciduous tooth caries and its influencing factors in some preschool children in Bengbu city

ObjectiveTo investigate the prevalence and related risk factors of caries in deciduous teeth among preschool children in Bengbu city, and provide the reference in the prevention and treatment of deciduous tooth caries.

MethodsA total of 934 preschool children from 6 kindergartens in Bengbu city were selected for a health survey, and the number of deciduous tooth caries cases, caries incidence rate and caries were counted and analyzed.

ResultsThe prevalence of primary teeth caries in 934 preschool children was 42.4%(396/934), the mean decayed-missing-filled-teeth(DMFT) index was 1.5.The caries prevalence and mean DMFT in boys and girls were 40.7% & 1.5 and 44.3% & 1.4, respectively.There was no statistical significance in the caries prevalence among the same sex children(P>0.05), and the differences of the caries incidence and DMFT among different age groups were statistically significant(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01).The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the age, education level of mother, eating snacks before sleeping, toothache over the past year, see dentist over the past year, KAP score of the guardians and intake frequency of sweetened beverages had significant influence on the incidence rate of caries in preschool children(P < 0.05 to P < 0.01).

ConclusionsThe incidence rate of deciduous tooth caries in preschool children aged 3-6 years in Bengbu is increasing with age.In order to reduce the incidence rate of deciduous tooth caries, it is necessary to correct children's bad living habits, reduce the intake of sweet drinks, pay attention to oral health and strengthen the oral health education of guardians.