Effect of different patterns of breastfeeding on dental caries of children at 3–5 years of age Baweja Mani1, Kalra Namita2,*, Tyagi Rishi3, Faridi MMA4, Khatri Amit5 1Senior Resident, Dept. of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University College of Medical Sciences(University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India. 2Professor & HOD, Dept. of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University College of Medical Sciences(University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India. 3Professor, Dept. of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University College of Medical Sciences(University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India. 4Professor & HOD, Dept. of Pediatrics, University College of Medical Sciences(University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India. 5 Associate Professor, Dept. of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry, University College of Medical Sciences(University of Delhi) and GTB Hospital, Dilshad Garden, New Delhi, India. *Corresponding Author: Email: nkalraucms@yahoo.com
Online published on 14 October, 2017. Abstract Aim To study and compare the prevalence and severity of dental caries in children from 3–5 years of age with different patterns of breastfeeding practices. Materials and Method All the children, aged 3–5 years, attending Immunization Clinic/Outpatient Department were recruited for the study. The detailed lactation history was inquired from the mothers to assign them into 3 different study groups: A. Group I: Children who were not breast-fed. B. Group II: Children with exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding for ≤1 year. C. Group III: Children with exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding for >1 year but ≤ 2 years. The detailed case history was taken after recording child's basic information. A dental examination was carried out for each child and standardized indices were recorded for oral health assessment. Chi-square test was used for statistical significance of difference in prevalence of caries. Kruskal Wallis test and Mann Whitney test were used for inter group comparisons. Confounding variables were adjusted using negative binomial with log link function. Results Children who were not breastfed (Group I) had 61% prevalence of caries and mean dmft index of 1.6. The prevalence of caries was 57% with mean dmft index of 1.0 in Group II and the prevalence of caries was 26% with mean dmft index of 0.6 in Group III. Negative binomial model proved highly significant relation of dental caries with breastfeeding up to 2 years. Conclusion The prevalence and severity of dental caries was significantly less in breast fed children, especially in those children who were breast fed for 2 years. Top Keywords Ad libitum breastfeeding, Dental caries, Early childhood caries. Top |