Association between early childhood caries and behavior as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist

This study's purpose was to use a standardized behavioral assessment instrument to compare the observed behavior of caries-free (CF) with caries-active (CA) children requiring restoration under general anesthesia (GA).

Healthy 30- to 60-month-olds, either CF or in need of dental restoration under GA, were selected in 4 equal-size cohorts of 30 subjects from both private practice settings and a clinic. Trained assistants administered the child behavior checklist, a standardized, age-appropriate instrument to assess child behavior problems to parents at the time of appointment.

The 60 CF and 60 CA subjects did not differ significantly (P<.05) between clinic and private practice for age, gender, and race and were collapsed into groups of 60 CF and 60 CA children (mean ages=41.2 and 45.2 months, respectively). Compared to CF children, CA children had significantly higher (more problems) scores for categories of: anxious/depressed; sleep problems; aggressive behavior; externalizing and total problems; and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems. CA children scores for withdrawn, sleep problems, and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems were also higher than normal, but neither group had scores outside normative ranges.

No significant age, gender, behavior, or race differences were noted for site of care, but caries-active children had significantly more behavior problems than caries-free children.