Prevalence of early childhood caries among preschool children - A retrospective study

Abstract

Dental caries is one of the most common diseases affecting young children mainly caused by the streptococcus mutans when they act on sugary deposits on the enamel. The bacteria produces an acidic environment after breaking down the sugars, resulting in the onset of caries. When this affects children at a very young age, it is known as early childhood caries and it is a serious threat in developing countries. When left untreated it can affect the quality of life of a child. This study aims to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries among preschool children. A retrospective cross sectional study with a sample size 478 preschool children with early childhood caries who were randomly selected from June 2019 to March 2020 from the patients records. Data collected were tabulated with parameters: age, gender, number of affected anterior teeth, Number of missing teeth and number of filled teeth. The results were analysed using Chi-square test in SPSS software. The analysed data is represented as graphs. The most affected age group was five years [31.7%]. Boys seem to be affected more than girls [53.7% > 46.3%]. Affected anteriors were highest in age group 5. Average number of teeth affected were four. The most number of missing teeth was seen in children aged 5 years and the average number of missing teeth was 2. The average number of filled teeth in children aged 3 to 6 years was 5. This necessitates the need to implement preventive and curative oral health programs for preschool children.