Oral Hygiene Practices and Bottle Feeding Pattern Among Children with Early Childhood Caries: A Preliminary Study

Authors

  • Buhari N Formerly, Faculty of Dentistry, University Malaya
  • Zainal Abidin FN Formerly, Faculty of Dentistry, University Malaya
  • Mani S A Lecturer, Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya
  • Khan IM Post graduate student/Research assistant, Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Malaya, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/adum.vol23no2.1

Keywords:

Bottle-feeding, dental caries, decayed, filled, dft, Early Childhood Caries, feeding pattern, nursing bottle, oral hygiene practices

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the association of bottle feeding and oral hygiene practices with the severity of caries among 3 to 5-year-old children with Early Childhood Caries (ECC). This cross-sectional study was carried out on pediatric dental patients with ECC attending a public university hospital. The
parents or guardians were interviewed for the bottle-feeding pattern and oral hygiene practices followed by a clinical dental examination of their children with ECC. Data analysis was done using Chi squared test. Out of 32 children, 69% had severe early childhood caries with mean dft of 8.88. In this study, 87.5% of
the subjects had a history of bottle feeding, with 53.1% still being bottle fed at the time of study. Current bottle-feeding habit was found to be statistically significant with the severity of caries (p=0.021). Majority (69 %) of the children were introduced to tooth brushing only after 1 year of age. About 40% of the children consumed either pre-chewed rice and/or shared spoons or feeding utensils with their parents or siblings but there was no significant association with the severity of caries (p=1.00). Because of its association with ECC, prolonged bottle feeding is significantly associated with the severity of caries in our study population. Besides, vertical and horizontal transmission of bacteria was also a risk factor for ECC, but it did not show any significant association with severity of ECC.

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Published

2016-12-30

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Articles