Is There an Impact of Social Factors and Food on Early Childhood Caries? A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of dietary habits on early childhood caries (ECC) in preschool children. We recruited 153 children between 30 and 71 months of age who applied to a state hospital dental clinic in Ankara, Turkey. The decayed-missing-filled teeth (dmft) index was calculated with a questionnaire that investigated the number of decayed, missing, and/or filled milk teeth. Participants formed three separate groups according to their caries history (Group 1: caries-free children, Group 2: children with ECC, Group 3: children with severe ECC [S-ECC]). The mean dmft score was 4.0 ± 3.9, and 20.2% of children were in caries-free group (n = 31), 45.8% were in ECC group (n = 70), and 34.0% were in S-ECC group (n = 52). The carbonated beverage consumption and the dmft index score was directly proportional (p