Impact of preventive care orientation on caries status among preschool children

ABSTRACT

Objective: This study aims to study the impact of preventive care orientation given to caregivers of child daycare centers on their knowledge and on the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC) among preschool children. Materials and Methods: Caregivers of twenty child daycare centers in Emirate of Sharjah were interviewed and 435 children attending these centers were surveyed for decayed missing filled teeth (dmft). The sample data were analyzed using t-tests and one-way ANOVA to assess the statistical significance of the differences in dmft score found between groups. Results: No significant correlation was found between dmft scores and family income of urban or rural centers, mothers' level of education, mothers' employment status in public centers, and frequency of dental visits. There was a significant correlation between dmft scores and mothers' employment status in private centers with the lowest scores among children of working mothers. High caries rates were observed in children attending private daycare centers where sweetened milk, juices, and snacks were served more frequently. There was a significant difference between private and public centers in caregivers' level of knowledge regarding oral health in favor of the latter. Low dmft scores were found to be associated with high level of knowledge of caregivers in public centers. Conclusions: Children are more likely to develop ECC if their caregivers are lacking knowledge or regular provision of preventive care orientation. This makes caregivers and school teachers better candidates for oral health education programs than parents.

Key words:

Early childhood caries - health education - preschool

• REFERENCES

• 1 Douglass JM, Tinanoff N, Tang JM, Altman DS. Dental caries patterns and oral health behaviors in Arizona infants and toddlers. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2001; 29: 14-22
• 2 Yiu CK, Wei SH. Management of rampant caries in children. Quintessence Int 1992; 23: 159-68
• 3 Stewart RE, Barber TK, Troutman KC, Wei SH. Pediatric Dentistry-Scientific Foundations and Clinical Practice. St. Louis: CV Mosby Co.; 1982: p. 917-26
• 4 Seminario AL, Ivancaková R. Early childhood caries. Acta Medica (Hradec Kralove) 2003; 46: 91-4
• 5 de Souza AL, Leal SC, Bronkhorst EM, Frencken JE. Assessing caries status according to the CAST instrument and WHO criterion in epidemiological studies. BMC Oral Health 2014; 14: 119
• 6 Schroth RJ, Brothwell DJ, Moffatt ME. Caregiver knowledge and attitudes of preschool oral health and early childhood caries (ECC). Int J Circumpolar Health 2007; 66: 153-67
• 7 World Health Organization. Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization. 2013
• 8 Frenkel H, Harvey I, Needs K. Oral health care education and its effect on caregivers' knowledge and attitudes: A randomised controlled trial. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 2002; 30: 91-100
• 9 Jose B, King NM. Early childhood caries lesions in preschool children in Kerala, India. Pediatr Dent 2003; 25: 594-600
• 10 Chan SC, Tsai JS, King NM. Feeding and oral hygiene habits of preschool children in Hong Kong and their caregivers' dental knowledge and attitudes. Int J Paediatr Dent 2002; 12: 322-31
• 11 Casamassimo PS, Thikkurissy S, Edelstein BL, Maiorini E. Beyond the dmft: The human and economic cost of early childhood caries. J Am Dent Assoc 2009; 140: 650-7
• 12 Prakash P, Subramaniam P, Durgesh BH, Konde S. Prevalence of early childhood caries and associated risk factors in preschool children of urban Bangalore, India: A cross-sectional study. Eur J Dent 2012; 6: 141-52
• 13 Hallett KB, O'Rourke PK. Social and behavioural determinants of early childhood caries. Aust Dent J 2003; 48: 27-33
• 14 Livny A, Assali R, Sgan-Cohen HD. Early childhood caries among a Bedouin community residing in the eastern outskirts of Jerusalem. BMC Public Health 2007; 7: 167
• 15 Schroth RJ, Moore P, Brothwell DJ. Prevalence of early childhood caries in 4 Manitoba communities. J Can Dent Assoc 2005; 71: 567
• 16 Kim Seow W. Environmental, maternal, and child factors which contribute to early childhood caries: A unifying conceptual model. Int J Paediatr Dent 2012; 22: 157-68
• 17 Wolfe GR, Stewart JE, Hartz GW. Relationship of dental coping beliefs and oral hygiene. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1991; 19: 112-5
• 18 Petersen PE, Hadi R, Al-Zaabi FS, Hussein JM, Behbehani JM, Skougaard MR. et al. Dental knowledge, attitudes and behavior among Kuwaiti mothers and school teachers. J Pedod 1990; 14: 158-64
• 19 Wyne AH, Al-Ghorabi BM, Al-Asiri YA, Khan NB. Caries prevalence in Saudi primary schoolchildren of Riyadh and their teachers' oral health knowledge, attitude and practices. Saudi Med J 2002; 23: 77-81