[Analysis of latent class and heterogeneous associations of oral health behaviors with preschool children caries].

Purpose: To determine the latent class and heterogeneous associations of oral health behaviors (OHB) with caries in preschool children aged 3-6 years, and to develop effective oral health interventions for improving their health status.

Methods: Latent class analysis(LCA) was applied to classify eight OHBs in three dimensions: oral hygiene, dietary habits, and preventive protection in 595 preschool children. Optimal classes were determined using model fitting and explanatory metrics, and marginal effects were estimated using bivariate association and multivariate regression models.