Association of Healthy Eating, Juice Consumption, and Bacterial Counts with Early Childhood Caries.

Purpose: To investigate the association of healthy diet, snacking, and bacterial count with early childhood caries in a group of preschool children in Alexandria, Egypt.

Methods: Sixty preschoolers were divided into three groups: (1) caries-free children; (2) children with early childhood caries (ECC); and (3) children with severe early childhood caries (S-ECC). Saliva was cultured to determine bacterial counts. A questionnaire collected information about background, oral health practices, and snacking habits. A 24-hour food recall form assessed dietary intake and was analyzed using the Health Eating Index 2005.

Results: Compared to caries-free children, children with ECC and S-ECC had significantly lower odds of drinking juices (odds ratio equals 0.10 and 0.02). Caries-free children had significantly higher Healthy Eating Index values than children with ECC and S-ECC (P=0.003 and P<0.0001). Total streptococci and Streptococcus mutans counts were significantly higher in children with ECC and S-ECC (P<0.0001 for all), whereas Streptococcus sanguis counts were lower (P=0.04 and P=0.01).

Conclusions: Drinking juices was associated with less early childhood caries and severe early childhood caries among preschoolers. Snacking on sweets was associated with more S-ECC. Healthy eating, brushing, and bacterial counts were not significantly associated with ECC or S-ECC in multivariate regression.