EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH DIFFERENT RISK FACTORS IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

Objective: To find the frequency/pattern of Early Childhood caries (ECC) and to find out the relationship of different risk factors with ECC. Methodology: A cross sectional survey was conducted in both pediatric departments present in the dental hospitals of Peshawar, Pakistan from August 2013 to January 2014 . All children with age range of 3- 6 years that visited pediatric department were selected. The diagnosis of ECC was solely based on clinical assessment. A parent or a caregiver was asked to complete a questionnaire regarding information about the child, their oral hygiene, demographics and feeding practices. The data was arranged categorically and analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS 16). Chi Square test was used to calculate statistical significance set at 0.05. Results: A total number of 320 children were selected. The Mean age of our sample was 4.2 ±1.14 years Majority of children were males (n=184, 57.5%) while females were (n=136, 42.5%) The frequency of Early Childhood Caries was 85 %(272). Anterior teeth had more caries (n=139, 43.4%) than posterior and upper jaw teeth had more caries (n=171, 53.4%) than lower jaw. Feeding habits, Age, mother’s age, adult supervision, and knowledge of parent were found to be significantly related with Early Childhood Caries (p .005), while the gender and who applies the tooth paste were found not significant Conclusion: There is a high occurrence of early child hood caries among children visiting dental hospitals in Peshawar. Anterior upper teeth are more prone to caries.