Breast Feeding Patterns and Early Childhood Caries: A Cross-Sectional Study in Rabat
Author : EZIN Adidémè Monique, ZINE Laila, CHAMI Bassima, RAMDI Hindi, CHHOUL Hakima and HESSISSEN Hanae
Abstract :
Introduction: Breastfeeding plays a vital role in human development. Its importance is both vital and functional. However, breastfeeding habits have often been identified as one of the etiologies of early childhood caries, which is a global health problem due to its prevalence and its impact on the health status of the child. The objective of this work is to evaluate the relationship between early childhood caries (ECC) and both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding in a child population of Rabat.
Materials and Method: This is a descriptive multicenter cross-sectional study conducted at the Dental Consultation and Treatment Center (CCTD), the Children's Hospital, and Urban Health Centers: (Yaacoub El Mansour, Ennour, El Amal in the city of Rabat). The study involved a convenience sample comprising 236 children aged from 6 months to 6 years. The data were collected through a questionnaire administered by interview technique; which collected socio-demographic determinants, breastfeeding practices, knowledge, and attitudes. A clinical examination of the children's dental status was conducted in a conventionally according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for oral health surveys. Data were analyzed by SPSS 13.0 software (Chicago, IL, USA), and statistical analyses were considered significant if p<0.05.
Results: The prevalence of caries in our sample was 61.9%, with an average DMF (Decayed, Missing, filled) index of 3.76 and a median of 2 [0-7]. This prevalence increased statistically significantly with age (p=0.000) as well as in breastfed children [63.7%, p=0.037]) compared to those who were bottle-fed alone or alternated bottle and breast. Unlimited bottle feeding and sleeping at the breast during breastfeeding in children aged from 6 months to 3 years also appeared to have a statistically significant relationship with the prevalence of caries, with values of 100% (p=0.048) and 75.8% (p=0.05) respectively. A statistically significant relationship was also found between caries prevalence and oral hygiene (p=0.000).
Conclusion: Our study shows that, according to WHO references, the DMF index in our sample is "average". The prevalence of caries would be related to the mode and frequency of breastfeeding. The statistical study revealed that breastfeeding was more incriminated in ECC than bottle-feeding or mixed breastfeeding and that falling asleep with a bottle of milk was responsible for early childhood caries, more than falling asleep at the breast.
Since the 1990s, the Ministry of Health in Morocco has established a National Oral Health Program, aimed at preventing common oral diseases, mainly among school children. The results of our study reinforce the idea that it would be relevant to extend this prevention program to the preschool age. Furthermore, special attention should be given to breastfeeding habits, and prevention and awareness messages should be delivered, regularly reinforced, to pregnant or breastfeeding women.
Keywords :
Breastfeeding-early childhood caries-prevalence
