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Influence of dental care for infants on caries prevalence: a comparative study
Fabiola Lemos Melhado1, Robson Frederico Cunha, Rosangela Santos Nery
1State University Paulista, School of Dentistry, Araçatuba, São Paulo, Brazil.
Purpose:
The influence of early dental care on the prevalence of dental caries was determined in children ages 35 to 40 months divided into 2 groups of 160 children each, with 1 group participating in a dental care program from the first year of life to the time of the study, while the other group did not receive any dental care.
Methods:
The clinical conditions considered for the evaluation were: sound teeth, enamel caries without cavitation, enamel caries with cavitation, and dentinal caries. The proportion and chi-square tests were used for statistical analysis with the level of significance set at 5%.
Results:
A significant difference regarding the presence of dental caries, especially in the number of children presenting enamel caries with cavitation (P < .0001), was observed between the 2 groups. The number of children with enamel caries without cavitation and dentinal caries was similar for the 2 groups.
Conclusions:
Considering the aspect of dental caries prevention, the authors concluded that children in the age range of 3 to 4 years who received early dental care showed better oral conditions.
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