ABSTRACT
Objective:To investigate the prevalence and related factors of dental caries in 3-year-old children in the Development District in Dalian.Methods:A multi-stage,randomized,cluster sampling method was used in the cross-sectional study.All 3-year-old children in the selected 15 kindergartens were invited to take part in the oral health examination conducted by 3 calibrated examiners.The WHO recommended caries diagnosis criteria were used.The structured questionnaire including the information of children's oral hygiene habits,dietary habits,parents' oral health knowledge and socioeconomic status was completed by the parents.Results:1 220 3-year-old children completed the clinical oral examination and 964 children's parents(79.0％) finished the questionnaire.The caries prevalence in 3-year-old children was 62.8％,and the mean dmft and dmfs scores were 3.40 and 7.34,respectively.No differences in the prevalence of caries,mean dmft and dmfs scores were found between boys and girls(P ＞0.05).Logistic regression analysis showed that the frequency of sweets and sugar-containing beverages consumption(P＜0.05),parents'education level(P＜0.05) were significantly related to the caries prevalence.Conclusion:The prevalence and severity of dental caries in 3-year-old children in Dalian Development District were high and the frequency of consumption sugar-containing foods and beverages,parents'education level were related to the decay prevalence.