ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess whether there is an association between oral thrush or other Candida-related conditions in infancy and early childhood caries (ECC) diagnosed by pediatricians. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records from six national children's hospitals that participate in the PEDSnet research network. There were 1,012,668 children with a visit at ages one to 12 months and another visit at ages 13 to 71 months. The independent variables were diagnosis of thrush or Candida-related conditions in the first year of life, while the dependent variable was diagnosis of ECC between 13 to 71 months old. RESULTS: Oral thrush detection was strongly associated with ECC, particularly between 13 and 36 months (rate ratio between 2.7 [95 percent confidence interval (95% CI) equals 2.5 to 2.9; P<.001] and 3.0 [95% CI, equals 2.8 to 3.4; P<.001]). A similar trend was observed with other Candida-related conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Oral thrush may be a risk factor for early childhood caries.
