Early Childhood Caries among Children upto 71 Months of Age in Karachi, Pakistan

• Main Authors: Shahbano Syed, Nighat Nisar, Nida Mubeen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dow University of Health Sciences 2016-01-01
• Series: Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences
• Subjects: frequency; ecc; children; karachi; pakistan
• Online Access: http://www.jduhs.com/index.php/jduhs/article/view/324

Objective: To determine frequency of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) among children upto71 months age in Karachi Pakistan. ECC is a devastating form of caries that may affect the primary dentition soon after infant teeth eruption and encompasses specific teeth and surfaces for children under 6-years of age. The persistent rise in ECC prevalence is a great challenge for dental health profession throughout the world and determining the region specific burden of ECC is necessary so that early preventive and appropriate treatment strategies can be applied. Materials and Methods: A Cross-sectional study was conducted in Karachi, Pakistan during 2009-2010. A sample size of 650 was calculated and children of up to 71 months of age with fully erupted teeth, born or resident of Gulberg Town, Karachi, Pakistan were included in the study. The selected households were visited and the child up to 71 months age group examined for the presence of ECC and mothers were interviewed through administering a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: About 650 children were examined, 302(46.5%) were boys and 348(53.5%) were girls. The proportion of ECC was found to be 23.5 % with mean dmft of 0.67. Considering primary central incisor (tooth # 51) of 650 children, 502 (77.2%) toddlers had sound incisor, 117 (18%) had decayed, filled with was in 1 (0.2%) child, missing due to caries were in 11 (1.7%), missing due to other reason were in 14 (2.2%) while 5 (0.8%) went through trauma. The mean dmft of our sample frame was 2.12. Conclusion: The proportion of ECC was high with increased frequency of dental caries among central and lateral incisors.