Socioeconomic Factors and Oral Health-Related Behaviours Associated with Dental Caries in Preschool Children from Central Italy (Province of Ascoli Piceno)
Table 2
Association among caries experience in the primary dentition and the answers to the questionnaire concerning oral health-related behaviors.
Questions
N (N = 513)
Caries experience in the primary dentition
value
“No” (n = 419) median (IQR)
“Yes” (n = 94) median (IQR)
How often does the patient brush his teeth?
2 (1-2)
2 (1-2)
2 (1-2)
^0.077 ns
How often does the patient eat between meals?
Median (IQR)
1 (1-2)
1 (1-2)
2 (1-3)
^0.002
Does the patient often have candies and sweets between meals?
No
147
132 (89.8%)
15 (10.2%)
°0.003
Yes
141
108 (76.6%)
33 (23.4%)
If yes, how often?
^0.671 ns
Median (IQR)
1 (1-2)
1 (1-2)
1 (1-2)
Has the patient ever been visited by a dentist?
Yes
105
83 (79.0%)
22 (21.0%)
°0.139 ns
No
183
157 (85.8%)
26 (14.2%)
If yes, how many times a year?
^0.001
Median (IQR)
1 (1-2)
1 (1-2)
1 (1-2)
Topical fluoride application?
Yes
47
39 (82.98)
8 (17.02)
°0.924 ns
No
237
198 (83.54)
39 (16.46)
Has the patient taken or is he still taking fluoride?
Yes
116
100 (86.21)
16 (13.79)
°0.273 ns
No
171
139 (81.29)
32 (18.71)
Is the patient using a fluoride toothpaste?
Yes
228
189 (82.89)
39 (17.11)
°0.734 ns
No
59
50 (84.75)
9 (15.25)
Does the patient have sealings?
Yes
11
7 (63.64)
4 (36.36)
°0.075 ns
No
276
232 (84.06)
44 (15.94)
Breastfeeding?
Yes
242
199 (82.23)
43 (17.77)
°0.139 ns
No
45
41 (91.11)
4 (8.89)
If yes, how long?
<10 months
161
137 (85.09)
24 (14.91)
°0.101 ns
≥10 months
81
62 (76.54)
19 (23.46)
Do you think your child may have caries?
No
244
223 (91.39)
21 (8.61)
°0.001
Yes
43
17 (39.53)
26 (60.47)
Does the patient have sweet drinks or sweet food before going to bed?
No
201
174 (86.57)
27 (13.43)
°0.039
Yes
86
66 (76.74)
20 (23.26)
When (age in months) did you start brushing his/her teeth?
Median (IQR)
24 (15 36)
24 (12 36)
29 (24 36)
^0.010
Do you always brush your child’s teeth even when tired?
Always
80
66 (82.50)
14 (17.50)
°0.891 ns
Often
111
94 (84.68)
17 (15.32)
Sometimes
83
70 (84.34)
13 (15.66)
Never
13
10 (76.92)
3 (23.08)
Do you think children’s teeth are important?
Of course
225
188 (83.56)
37 (16.44)
°0.989 ns
Yes
55
46 (83.64)
9 (16.36)
No
7
6 (85.71)
1 (14.29)
°χ2 test or Fisher’s exact test; ^Mann–Whitney test; ;; ns: not significant.
