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Risk factors for caries-free time: longitudinal study in early childhood
Maria Beatriz Barreto de Sousa Cabral1, Eduardo Luiz Andrade Mota2, Maria Cristina Teixeira Cangussu1
1Universidade Federal da Bahia. Faculdade de Odontologia. Departamento de Odontologia Social. Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Insights
Social factors significantly increase the risk of early childhood dental caries. Children in public day care and those with prior caries experience are most vulnerable to developing this disease.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Dental caries is a prevalent disease in early childhood.
- Identifying risk factors is crucial for prevention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the time to caries development in children under 30 months.
- To identify social and environmental risk factors for early childhood caries.
Main Methods:
- A cohort study followed 495 children for 14 months in Salvador, Brazil.
- Multivariate Cox regression and Kaplan-Meier methods were used to analyze data.
Main Results:
- 112 children (22.6%) developed caries, with a mean caries-free time of 248.6 days.
- Higher caries rates were observed in older children (>24 months) and those in public day care.
- Key risk factors included district of origin, day care category, age, bottle-feeding, active white spots, non-masonry housing, and previous caries experience.
Conclusions:
- Social determinants play a significant role in the development of dental caries.
- Targeted interventions for high-risk groups are recommended.
Objective:
To estimate time in days from the beginning of follow-up up to the development of dental caries in children under 30 months and to assess risk factors potentially affecting the development of the disease.
Methods:
The study population of the cohort study were children attending public, private, and charitable day care centers in Salvador, Northeastern Brazil, followed up for fourteen months. We used the multivariate Cox regression to estimate risk and Kaplan-Meier method to estimate the caries-free time.
Results:
Of the 495 children studied, 112 developed caries (22.6%). Mean caries-free time was 248.6 (SD = 96.2) days. The comparasion of curves by age group (> 24 months) and children attending public day care showed more caries in a shorter period (p < 0.00). The following variables were important risk factors for increased rate of caries: district of origin (HR = 1.88, 95%CI 1.27-2.77), category of day care (HR = 3.88, 95%CI 2.04-7.38), age (HR = 1.77, 95%CI 1.15-2.74), bottle-feeding before sleep time after the age of 12 months (HR = 1.62, 95%CI 1.04-2.51), presence of active white spots (HR = 2.70, 95%CI 1.07-6.80), and living in non-masonry house (HR = 1.68, 95%CI 1.02-2.76). The highest hazard ratio (HR = 4.60, 95%CI 2.80-7.42) was found for previous caries experience.
Conclusions:
Social variables were considered as of high risk for the development of dental caries.
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