Abstract
For the purpose of becoming familiar with the characteristic nursing environment of one and a half year old infants in various localities, questionnaires given to the mothers of 210 infants in Ibaragi (Osaka),340 in Tokushima and 288 in Yokosuka were investigated. Also to discover the relation ship between the nursing habits at the age of one and a half and the dental caries prevalence at the ages of two and a half, three, and three and a half, the questionnaires to the mothers and the results of the oral health examination of the infants were analysed. The subjects were 33 infants in Ibaragi,130 in Tokushima and 193 in Yokosuka who were examined every six months from the ages of one and a half to three and a half years.
The results obtained were as follows:
1. The rates of families which consist of more than five members and of the one and a half year old infants who were reared by their grandmothers through the daylight hours were higher in Tokushima than in Yokosuka and Ibaragi.
2. The rates of mothers who were employed were higher in Tokushima and Yokosuka than in Ibaragi. In Tokushima, many mothers were full-time employees such as officeholders and clerks. In Yokosuka, many mothers were self-employed engaged in agriculture, and in other occupations.
3. At the age of one and a half years, the rates of children having nursing bottle while sleeping and of the not yet being weaned were higher in Tokushima than in Yokosuka and Ibaragi.
4. At the age of one and a half years, the rates of regular tooth brushing and of those who were receiving the mother's help while brushing were very low in Tokushima.5. At the age of one and a half years, concerning between-meal snacks, the rates of irregular eating, eating more than three times, and eating while playing were higher in Tokushima than in Yokosuka and Ibaragi.
6. At the age of one and a half, the rate of eating of sweets as between-meal snack 320was higher in Yokosuka than in Tokushima and Ibaragi.
7. Of the nursing environment of children from the age of one and a half years, the age of the child in relation to the ages of the other children in the family was related to the caries prevalence at the age of two and a half years, while the number of family members, rearing a child through the daylight hours, completing of weaning, the help of the mother while brushing, the regularity of eating between-meal snacks, the number of between-meal snacks were related to the caries prevalence at the ages of three and three and a half.
8. Concerning all six items except the number of children listed above, the rates of cariogenic answers in the questionnaires were higher in Tokushima than in Yokosuka and Ibaragi.
