Risk factors for early childhood caries in Canadian preschool children seeking care.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine family characteristics, beliefs, and habits that contribute to early and severe caries in young children in Canada.

Methods: A survey was administered to: (1) parents of 139 children diagnosed with early childhood caries (ECC) in 5 pediatric dentistry practices in Canada over a 33-month period (group 1); and (2) parents of all normal referrals (carious and noncarious children) in one of the practices over a 3 month period (group 2). Group 2 prevented studying an exclusive or polarized population, and allowed direct comparison between children with decoy and without decoy.