Early childhood caries and maternal cariogenic bacteria. A retrospective study

Key words: Early childhood caries, Mutans streptococci, Mothers

Background - The early childhood caries is a serious public health problem in most industrialized countries. Objectives - To quantify the concentrations of salivary mutans streptococci (ms) in mothers immediately after delivery and to associate them with the prevalence of caries disease registered in children during the fourth year of age.
Materials and methods - The caries prevalence of 494 children (mean age 48 months) was retrospectively evaluated, using the caries index dmfs. General information on parents and some variables related to dental caries in children were collected through a self-administered questionnaire to parents. Clinical data and behavioural/medical history were associated with the concentration of ms recorded in mothers (n = 489) in the third day after delivery.
Results - 31.3% of mothers (n=178) had high concentrations of ms, while 69.7% (n=311) showed low concentrations. The children’s caries experience was not statistically associated with the concentration of ms registered in mothers (p=0.62). Neither the mother’s education level, nor the language spoken at home, were statistically significant associated with the concentration of ms. Only the frequent intake of sweetened foods by children (more than once a day) was statistically associated with the concentration of maternal ms. The children from mothers with a concentration of ms higher than a threshold value of 105 CFU/ml had a risk of 1.61 to take sweet foods more than once per day (p = 0.01).
Conclusion - The results of the present study confirm that caries is a disease strongly related to behaviours; prevention strategies performed by the paediatrician, such as educational intervention, are necessary to reduce the prevalence of the disease.