Early childhood caries: prevalence and risk factors in Seoul, Korea.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries (ECC), including noncavitated lesions (d1), in children 6-59 months of age in relation to socioeconomic factors, feeding practices, and oral health behaviors in Seoul, Korea.

Methods: The children attended child care facilities and were selected from 32 primary sampling units. Two dentists examined 470 children. Parents of 383 of the subjects were interviewed by phone regarding caries risk factors.

Results: For children 6-59 months of age, the prevalence of ECC and severe ECC were 56.5 percent and 47.0 percent respectively. In bivariate analysis, the children whose nursing bottle contained sweetened solution had higher severe ECC prevalence (P=.035), and children whose parents reported a lower frequency of between-meal snacks showed lower ECC prevalence (P=.046). By logistic regression analysis, age and frequency of between-meal snacks were associated with the prevalence of ECC (P<.05).

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the prevalence of ECC was high among children in Seoul. Early educational intervention programs for pregnant women and mothers of young children should be developed based on the risk factors identified in this study.