Early childhood caries in multilingual community

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Early childhood caries (ECC) poses a significant global health challenge, particularly in diverse populations.
• Socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity are recognized determinants of oral health outcomes in children.
• Limited data exists on ECC prevalence within the multi-ethnic South Backa District (SBD), Republic of Serbia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence and severity of ECC in preschool children within the ethnically diverse SBD.
• To analyze the association between ECC and various socioeconomic, ethnic, and linguistic factors.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional analytical study involving 341 preschool children (13-71 months) and their parents in SBD.
• Two-stage cluster sampling for child selection; parental questionnaires for SES, language, education, and income.
• WHO caries diagnostic criteria and Wine's modified criteria for severity; statistical analysis using SPSS and Microsoft Excel.

Main Results:

• ECC prevalence was 30.5%, with initial "white spot" lesions being most common.
• Higher ECC rates were observed in male children, those not speaking Serbian, children of part-time employed parents, those with elementary education, low-income families, and the Roma ethnic group.
• Significant associations were found between ECC and non-Serbian language (p = 0.009), part-time employed parents (p < 0.001), elementary education (p = 0.001), and low income (p = 0.023).

Conclusions:

• Social environment, ethnicity, and lack of Serbian language proficiency significantly influence ECC prevalence and severity in this multi-ethnic region.
• Targeted public health interventions are needed to address the identified risk factors for ECC prevention in vulnerable preschool populations.
• Further research should explore culturally sensitive strategies to improve oral health among diverse ethnic groups in SBD.