PREVALENCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES IN CHILDREN OF THE KOSOVO POMORAVLJE AND POSSIBLE RISK FACTORS FOR ITS OCCURRENCE

Abstract

Summary: Background/Aim. Early childhood caries (ECC) is an infectious multifactorial disease, which involves the presence of caries on any deciduous teeth in children up to the age of 71 months, and begins through a complex process involving the transmission of infectious bacteria, eating habits, and oral hygiene. The purpose of this paper was to examine the prevalence and possible risk factors for the

emergence of caries in early childhood. Methods. The research was carried out as an analytical cross- sectional study, including 239 children aged 13-71 months, of both genders living in rural areas of the

Kosovo Pomoravlje region. All selected children from the sample were examined with standard dental diagnostic tools (dental mirrors, dental probe) under artificial lighting in a dental chair. Klein-Palmer's DMFT system (d-decayed, m-missing, f-filling) was used to identify caries. Data on social status, attitudes, habits, and behavior of the parents of the examined children are recorded in questionnaires specially designed for this study. Results. Prevalence of caries in the study sample was 56.5%. The average number of diseased teeth per respondent for all children tested was 4.0. In analyzing the received data, the following seven possible ECC predictors with a significance level of p <0.05 were found to be of statistical relevance: the age of the mother (p = 0.004), visits to the dentist (p = 0.026) the reason for visiting the dentist (p = 0.038 ), use of a bottle in nursing (p = 0.001), child’s age (p <0.001), child’s birth order (p = 0.007), and the child’s teeth brushing habits (p = 0.003). Conclusion. The data obtained in the study indicated a high prevalence of deciduous teeth caries in the examined children, which indicates the need for intensive preventive efforts, both with children and the parents, as well as early diagnosis and treatment for early childhood caries.