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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
C. Okunseri, BDS MSc DDPHRCS, Soraya Beiraghi, and David Born, PhD. School of Dentistry, Department of Preventive Sciences, University of Minnesota, 515 Delaware Street SE, Moos Tower 15-136, Minneapolis, MN 55455, 612 625 7641, okuns001@umn.edu
Background: Although, Early Childhood Caries (ECC) affects five to ten percent of young children in the United States, however essential local data on ECC is lacking in Minnesota for the purpose of health planning and service delivery. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Early Childhood Caries among the children who attended the dental school pediatric dental clinic. Method: A random sample of 200 dental records of children (male=89, female=110) between the ages of 12 to 60 months were reviewed for the presence of ECC. The study population consisted of children who visited the dental clinic for the first time for emergency or routine dental care from the metropolitan area between January 2000 and December 2001. All medically compromised children were excluded from the study. The presence of ECC was identified according to Horowitz A (1998) and Wyne AH (1999). Results: Prevalence of ECC was 15% for upper anterior in 12-24 months old and 58% in 36-60 months old children. In the lower anterior, prevalence was 3% in 12-24 months and 8% in 36-60 months old children. Conclusion: The results suggest a significant level of ECC among children who visited the dental clinic from the metropolitan area. Further research is needed to estimate the severity of ECC in the State of Minnesota.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Oral Health, Epidemiology
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.