Association Between Middle Ear Infection and Dental Caries Amongst Children: A Hospital Based Study

ABSTRACT

Background: Otitis Media or infection of Middle Ear is a broadterm that encompasses all the inflammation of the middle earwithout any specific etiology or pathogenesis. The presentstudy was conducted with the aim to determine the incidenceof dental caries amongst the subjects with middle ear infection.Materials and Methods: Controls were subjects who didn’thad dental caries of ear infection. Children with any othermedical condition were excluded from the study. Children withinfection of middle ear were categorized according to age andgender. Group I subjects were having middle ear infection andGroup II were controls. Centrifugation was done for 10 minsand the deposits obtained were used for culturing. All the datathus obtained was arranged in a tabulated form and analyzedusing SPSS software. Probability value of less than 0.05 wasconsidered as significant.Results: The mean age of the subjects was 10.67+/-3.62years. The mean colony forming units in Group I was 5.7+/-9.65 and in Group II was 1.6+/-2.78. There were 5 children inGroup I and 30 children in Group II with very good health ofteeth. Good oral health was seen amongst 5 subjects in GroupI and 20 subjects in Group II. Majority of subjects in Group I(40) had average oral health. There was a significant differencein the Groups amongst oral health amongst the groups.Conclusion: There was an increased risk of early childhoodcaries amongst children with middle ear infection.