Association of Feeding Methods and Streptococcus mutans Count with Early Childhood Caries: A Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION: Early childhood caries (ECC) is a virulent form of dental caries that can destroy the primary dentition of toddlers and preschool children. The aim was to determine the relationship of feeding methods and oral Streptococcus mutans count in 3- to 5-year-old children with ECC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in children aged 3 to 5 years. Participating mothers were interviewed regarding child’s demographic profile, educational level and socioeconomic status of parents, past medical and dental history of the mother and child, child’s feeding habits, and dietary habits and oral hygiene practices of mother and child. Clinical examination for dental caries was done using the World Health Organization criteria (1997). Salivary samples of mother-child pair were collected to determine the pH, flow rate, and S. mutans count. Statistical tests, such as Student’s t-test, analysis of variance, and Pearson’s correlation were applied. RESULTS: Out of 150 mother-child pair, statistically significant difference in the caries experience was found between mothers and children with high and low S. mutans count. Moderate but statistically significant negative correlation was found between mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth of mothers and mean decayed, extracted and filled teeth (deft) of children with high S. mutans count. Regarding deft, there was no statistically significant difference between children who were exclusively breast fed (7.85 ± 2.94), exclusively bottle-fed (8.67 ± 3.98), and both breast and bottle-fed (7.77 ± 2.91). CONCLUSION: The mean caries experience of mothers and children was 2.66 ± 2.01 and 7.82 ± 2.94 respectively, with decayed component being maximum. Moderate and significant correlation (r = 0.5) was found between S. mutans of mothers and children in saliva. Significant negative correlation was found between mothers and children with high S. mutans count (r = -0.0284; p = 0.046). HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Bullappa D, Puranik MP, Sowmya KR, Nagarathnamma T. Association of Feeding Methods and Streptococcus mutans Count with Early Childhood Caries: A Cross-sectional Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2017;10(2):119-125.