The Relationship between Weaning Method and its Time and Severe Early Childhood Caries

Severe early childhood caries is the most important dental problem among children younger than three years of age.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between time and manner of weaning and severe early childhood caries (S-ECC).

This descriptive-analytical study was performed in Kerman, Iran, in 2020. The study population consisted of 130 mothers and their children aged 18 to 30 months with and without S-ECC who visited the health centers in Kerman. Clinical examinations of the childrenchr('39')s teeth were carried out with a dental mirror by a trained dentist after drying the surfaces of the maxillary incisors. The presence or absence of S-ECC was marked in a relevant checklist. Then, the mothers were asked to answer questions about the way they feed their children and the weaning method used in case of weaning off their children. Finally, data was analyzed using t-test in SPSS version 16.

 The mean age of the children was 24.4 ± 4.7 months, and 52% of them were girls. Most of the mothers had used the traditional methods to wean their children. The mean age at weaning was 23.8 months. There was a significant relationship between the age at which the child was weaned and S-ECC. In other words, children with S-ECC were significantly older at weaning than those children without S-ECC (p<0.05).

Children with S-ECC had a longer breastfeeding period than children without S-ECC; thus, it seems that one of the reasons for the high prevalence of such caries in children in Kerman could be the longer period of breastfeeding or bottle-feeding. Therefore, an appropriate pattern of breastfeeding is effective in preventing S-ECC.