Dental caries and oral health-related factors in a sample of Greek preschool children.

AIM: To assess the caries prevalence and some background factors in 3- to 5.5-year-old children in the municipality of Thessaloniki, Greece. METHODS: One calibrated examiner examined the children of all municipal day care centres for dmfs, existence of visible dental plaque and presence of black stain. Examination was made on site using disposable dental mirrors. Questionnaires were given to parents for assessing socio-economic status, oral hygiene habits (brushing frequency, toothpaste use) and sucking/feeding at sleep habits (nursing bottle, its content and pacifier use). RESULTS: Out of a total of 950 children, both clinical examination and questionnaire data were available for 804 children. The overall mean dmfs was 1.3 (SD = 3.8). The caries prevalence was 22.6 %, while the presence of black stain was evident in 2.4 % of the children. Intra-examiner agreement was estimated with Kendall's τ b = 0.99. A generalised linear model used to fit a Poisson regression for the analysis of count outcome data (dmfs) and logistic regression was used for binary outcome data (presence or absence of visible dental plaque). Statistically significant association was found between dmfs and the presence of visible dental plaque. The country of origin and education status of the parents were found to be significant factors for dmfs. The presence of black stain was negatively correlated with dmfs. CONCLUSIONS: The mean dmfs was lower than earlier Greek data. Country of origin, education status of the parents and visible dental plaque seemed to be important caries risk factors, while the presence of black stain was a strong caries resistance predictor.

Short communication: Dmfs and BMI in preschool Greek children. An epidemiological study.

AIM: To investigate the relationship between dental caries (dmfs) and body mass index (BMI) categories in 3-5.5 year old children in Thessaloniki, Greece. METHODS: The study was conducted in 18 municipal day care centres and involved 361 children. The dmfs was determined on site by one calibrated examiner using disposable dental mirrors and a penlight. The height and weight of the children were measured on site by a nutritionist, who grouped them into four BMI categories, shown in the results. STATISTICS: The estimation of the relationship between the BMI and dmfs values was based on a generalized linear model (Poisson log-linear regression) while the sequential Bonferroni method was used for pair-wise comparisons between BMI categories. RESULTS: Mean dmfs values for each BMI category were: 1.02 (SD=2.41) for the underweight (n=44), 0.74 (SD=2.24) for the normal weight (n=281), 1.88 (SD=4.28) for the overweight (n=26) and 0.80 (SD=2.53) for the obese (n=10). Overweight children were found to show statistically significant differences in dmfs values compared with both children of normal weight (p<0.001) and those underweight (p=0.015). CONCLUSION: Overweight Greek pre-school children are at higher risk of dental caries.