The Prevalence of Early Dental Caries and Its Contributing Factors among 3-6-Year-Old Children in Varamin/Iran

Early dental caries in childhood is one of the health problems. This survey was carried out to determine the prevalence of dental caries and its contributing factors among 3-6 year old children in Varamin، Iran kindergartens. In this cross-sectional study، 838 children aged 3-6 years from Varamin kindergartens were selected by census and examined for dental caries using WHO criteria. Variables including age، gender and the location of kindergarten were recorded in a check list. The socioeconomic state of kindergartens’ locations، were classified as high، moderate and low level by the consensus of 5 informative natives and governmental experts. Data were analyzed using Kappa، Mann-Whitney U، Chi-Square، Kruskull Wallis، and Spearman''s Correlation Coefficient. The mean score of dmft index (Decayed/ Missed/ Filled Tooth) in the studied children was 3. 99±4. 30 and 28. 2% of children were caries free. dmft score showed a significant direct relationship with age. Children in rural areas had significant higher mean dmft score compared to children in urban areas (P=0. 056). There was no significant statistical difference between dmft and gender or socioeconomic status of the location of kindergartens. The results indicate a high prevalence of early dental caries in Varamin children. Therefore، particular emphasis should be placed on educational and interventional programs، especially for mothers and kindergarten nurses and trainers.