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Development of an oral health indicator in infants
K Kawabata1, M Kawamura, H Sasahara
1Department of Preventive Dentistry, Hiroshima University School of Dentistry, Japan.
Insights
A new Infants Dental Index (IDI) predicts 1.5-year-old children's oral health risks, aiding mothers in preventive dental care efforts and identifying high-risk infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health
- Preventive Medicine
Background:
- Early childhood caries is a significant public health concern.
- Maternal education and lifestyle factors influence infant oral health.
- Predictive tools are needed to support early intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a simple predictive indicator for 1.5-year-old infants' oral health.
- To aid maternal preventive efforts in early childhood caries.
- To identify infants at higher risk for dental caries.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of lifestyle factors at 1.5 years.
- Development of the Infants Dental Index (IDI) based on six key factors.
- Correlation of IDI scores with caries incidence at 3 years of age in 1575 children.
Main Results:
- The IDI score showed a significant association with dmft scores at 3 years (r = -0.18, P < 0.001).
- IDI score-based classifications significantly predicted caries onset between 1.5 and 3 years (chi^2 = 36.74, P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
- The developed Infants Dental Index (IDI) is a valid tool for community dental health.
- IDI can effectively identify infants at higher risk for dental caries.
- The index supports targeted health education for mothers to improve infant oral health.
Objective:
To develop a simple predictive indicator for 1.5-year-old infants' oral health as an aid for maternal preventive efforts.
Design:
The development of an indicator was based on the relationship between life style factors of the 1.5-year-old infants and the caries incidence of the same children at three years of age. Data gained at examination of the 3-year-old subjects were subjected to analysis with the caries-free information on the same subjects at 1.5 years.
Setting:
A community health centre in Hiroshima Japan.
Subjects:
1575 children received an oral check-up at 3 years of age at a community health centre.
Outcome Measures:
The category scores of the six items which were extracted retrospectively from life style factors at 1.5 years affecting caries prevalence at 3 years of age were quantified and transformed into integral numbers so as to make up a total of 100. The sum of the six transformed scores was named an Infants Dental Index (IDI).
Results:
The IDI score was associated significantly with the dmft score at 3 years of age (r = -0.18 P < 0.001). When the subjects were classified into four groups with respect to the IDI score these four groups were significantly related to the caries onset between 1.5 and 3 years of age (chi 2 = 36.74, P < 0.001
Conclusions:
The IDI developed in this study appeared to be valid so that it could be applied in the field of the community dental health to identity higher risk infants and direct more effective health education to mothers.