June, 2013, Vol. 15, No. 2
CONTENTS
SCIENTIFIC ARTICLES
CASE REPORTS
© 2013 Stomatologija
Stomatologija 2013; 15 (2): 39-46 
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Caries and its risk factors in young children in five different countries
Simona Skrīvele, Rūta Care, Sandra Bērziņa, Susanne Kneist, Vanessa de Moura-Sieber, Ronaldo de Moura, Annerose Borutta, Elena Maslak, Tamara Tserekhava, Natalia Shakovets, Maik Wagner
Summary
The state of oral health plays an essential role in human comprehensive health. Nevertheless, although considerable improvement in oral health caries has been noted in both developed and newly developing countries, caries is still widespread among children. Although it can be monitored, caries cannot be properly eliminated.
Materials and methods. This investigation, performed in cooperation with Jena Hospital in Germany, was conducted in five countries from 2002-2008. The cities Riga (Latvia), Ouro Preto (Brazil), Erfurt (Germany), Volgograd (Russia) and Minsk (Belorus) were engaged in this investigation. Children at the age of 26-34 months were surveyed. Consistent with the research design, the mothers filled out questionnaires about the children’s health, and an examination of the children’s oral health was performed. The statistics program SPSS 15.0 was used to analyze the obtained data, and the correlations between changing findings were expressed by the Spearmen rank correlation coefficient (r).
Results. In this study, 472 children were observed: 179 from Riga, 152 from Erfurt, 62 from Ouru Preto, 116 from Minsk and 84 from Volgograd. A direct correlation existed between the country and plaque (r=0.16) and caries (dmft) (r=-0.11). The direct correlation between dmft and Streptococcus mutans (r=-0.36) was characteristic of children from Erfurt. The lowest dmft index (0.62) was present in children from Erfurt, and the highest (1.57) in children from Ouro Preto.
Conclusions. The frequency and prevalence of caries in young children in Riga is high; it was the lowest in Erfurt and the highest – in Brazil. Plaque and dt were one of the indices with a direct relationship in Riga, Brazil and Minsk. Poor oral hygiene, irregular tooth brushing and the consumption of cariogenic foods and drinks are the most important caries risk factors among children at the age of 2-3 years. The mother’s knowledge and attitude affect the child’s oral health.
Key words: early childhood caries, deciduous dentition, multi-center study.
Received: 19 06 2012
Accepted for publishing: 20 06 2013
1Department of Conservative dentistry, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia
2Biological research laboratory, Center for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Jena University, Jena, Germany
3WHO Collaborating Centre "Prevention of Oral Diseases" at the Center for Dental, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hospital of Jena University, Jena, Germany
4Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Volgograd State University, Volgograd,Russia
5Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Belarus State Medical University, Minsk,Belarus
6Department of Economic and Social Statistics,Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, Jena, Germany
Simona Skrīvele1 – D.D.S.
Rūta Care1 – D.D.S., prof.
Sandra Bērziņa1 – D.D.S.
Susanne Kneist2 – Prof., Dr. rer. nat. hab.
Vanessa de Moura-Sieber3 – M.D.
Ronaldo de Moura3 – Dr. med. dent.
Annerose Borutta3 – Prof., Dr. hc.
Elena Maslak4 – Prof. Dr.
Tamara Tserekhava5 – Prof. Dr.
Natalia Shakovets5 – Priv-Doz. Dr.
Maik Wagner6 – Dr. Dipl.-Wirtschaftsmath
Address correspondence to Simona Skrīvele, Department of Conservative dentistry, Riga Stradins University, Dzirciema iela 20, LV-1007 Riga, Latvia. E-mail address: simonaskrivele@e-apollo.lv