A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Changes in dental health and dental health habits from 3 to 5 years of age
Authors: Marja‐Leena Mattila, Päivi Paunio, Päivi Rautava, Ansa Ojanlatva, Matti Sillanpää
Publisher: AAPHD NATIONAL OFFICE
Publication year: 1998
Journal: Journal of Public Health Dentistry
Journal name in source: JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH DENTISTRY
Journal acronym: J PUBLIC HEALTH DENT
Volume: 58
Issue: 4
First page : 270
Last page: 274
Number of pages: 5
ISSN: 0022-4006
eISSN: 1752-7325
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-7325.1998.tb03008.x(external)
Abstract
Objectives: This study sought to determine how dental health and dental health habits change from 3 to 5 years of age and to consider whether preventive dental health care helped in preventing or halting caries in children. Methods: The study included 67 maternity health care clinics, 72 well-baby clinics, and 69 dental health care clinics. Of the 1,292 newborn children, 1,003 (90.8%) were included in this study. Results: Preventive dental health care contributed to dental caries being halted in only 13.2 percent of those children who had enamel caries at 3 years of age. The dmft index did not increase in 22.6 percent of those children who had dentinal caries at 3 years of age. For all others, the disease became more severe. Toothbrushing habits of S-year-old children were very consistent over the two years studied. Children were at a risk for caries when their mothers had nine years of basic education, when they already had plaque and caries at 3 years of age, and when the frequency of eating sweets increased the most during the two-year study period. Conclusions: Among 3-year-old children, plaque is an indicator of caries risk and therefore should be a key element in health education. Those children who already have evidence of caries at 3 years of age should be the target of preventive dental services because of their increased risk.
Objectives: This study sought to determine how dental health and dental health habits change from 3 to 5 years of age and to consider whether preventive dental health care helped in preventing or halting caries in children. Methods: The study included 67 maternity health care clinics, 72 well-baby clinics, and 69 dental health care clinics. Of the 1,292 newborn children, 1,003 (90.8%) were included in this study. Results: Preventive dental health care contributed to dental caries being halted in only 13.2 percent of those children who had enamel caries at 3 years of age. The dmft index did not increase in 22.6 percent of those children who had dentinal caries at 3 years of age. For all others, the disease became more severe. Toothbrushing habits of S-year-old children were very consistent over the two years studied. Children were at a risk for caries when their mothers had nine years of basic education, when they already had plaque and caries at 3 years of age, and when the frequency of eating sweets increased the most during the two-year study period. Conclusions: Among 3-year-old children, plaque is an indicator of caries risk and therefore should be a key element in health education. Those children who already have evidence of caries at 3 years of age should be the target of preventive dental services because of their increased risk.
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