Relationship between Dental Caries Occurrence and Childcare Environment in 3-year-old Children

Abstract

 The occurrence of child dental caries is closely related to family lifestyle. We conducted a questionnaire survey to investigate how the childcare environment is related to caries occurrence in three-year-old children. According to logistic regression analysis, when the degree of cooperation for nursing between spouses when their child is 18 months of age is high, and the child is less likely to develop dental caries at three years of age (odds ratio [OR]=0.36, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.15–0.88). Moreover, children who consumed snacks less frequently and/or received topical fluoride application at 18 months were less likely to develop dental caries (OR=0.34, 95% Cl=0.15–0.76; OR=0.41, 95%Cl=0.19–0.86, respectively) when they reached three years of age.

 We suggest that supporting and emphasizing the necessity of co-operation between couples with respect to childhood dental health may lead to the prevention of dental caries in infants.