Prevalence and risk factors of early childhood caries in the middle east region: A Systematic Review Prevalence and risk factors of early childhood caries

Main Article Content

Suni Babu Kotha

Keywords

children, infants, preschool child, dental caries, prevalence, risk factor

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the prevalence and risk factors of early childhood caries (ECC) in the middle east region in 0-6 years of age group. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed in three major databases Web of Science, PubMed, and Cochrane database to identify the published literature on the prevalence and risk factors of ECC from January 1st, 1960 to December 31st, 2020. All preschool children of 0-6 years of age irrespective of gender and socioeconomic status from the selected geographics were included. The quality assessment of the included studies was performed using a modified version of the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) adapted for the cross-sectional studies. Results: A total of 26 full-text articles with a study population of 14,479, age group 0-6 years were included in the study. The overall ECC prevalence in the middle east region ranged from 26.50% to 99% in the 0-6 years age group. The mean decayed missing filled teeth (dmft) ranged from 0.95  to 16.9 reported in studies from Jeddah, West Province, and Al-Jouf, Northern region of Saudi Arabia. In UAE, the prevalence ranged from 41% to 83%. The evaluation of the included studies revealed a total number of 103 risk factors for early childhood caries. Low socioeconomic status, dietary habits, poor oral hygienic attitude and behaviors, and poor access and availability of dental care services were the major risk factors. Most studies found low socio-economic status, gender, age of the child, parents’ education, low maternal education, and type of school to be significant risk factors for ECC. Children attending public schools were at a greater risk of having ECC. Gender (male) was another important factor risk factor. Conclusion: ECC can be prevented by focusing on prevention programs f dental caries, developing awareness generating programs focusing on oral health education and increasing access and availability of dental care services.
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