ASSESSMENT OF CONTRIBUTING FACTORS IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES AMONG RURAL POPULATION OF SULLIA TALUK.

Early childhood caries is a chronic, transmissible infectious disease, the most common, affecting primary teeth. It is the most prevalent (54%) disease of childhood in India, a serious socio-behavioral and dental problem that afflicts infants and toddlers. Prevalence of early childhood caries varies greatly in different countries. Aim: To correlate the severity of early childhood caries to the etiological factors through a questionnaire study. Methods: The sample size consisted of a total 150 healthy children aged from 0-6 years who reported to the department of pediatric dentistry KVG dental college and hospital in Sullia. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information regarding demographic data, feeding history, dietary habits and oral hygiene practices. The status of dental caries was recorded using caries index and oral hygiene was recorded using oral hygiene index. Results:150 children with a mean age of 4.1 years were included in the study,39% children were still bottle feed on demand and 52% of children consumed more than once/day.68% of children had poor oral hygiene and most of them brushes once daily with compromised parental supervision and most of the parents are uneducated. The mean dmft score was 4.3.Chisquare test was used to find the association between oral hygiene index with etiological factors .Percentage were used to analyze etiological contributing factors. Conclusion: The high level of decay mainly attributed to poor oral hygiene, the decay also attributed to high sweet consumption, lack of regular dental visits and low socioeconomic status.