EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES AND RELATED FACTORS IN VIENTIANE, LAO PDR

Abstract. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of early childhood caries and the oral health status in children aged 36-47 months in Vientiane, the capital city of Lao PDR. This study also aimed to assess the feeding practices, snack consumption, oral hygiene practices, and dental visits of children at this age. A total of 400 children were selected for oral examination and their caretakers were interviewed. The results showed the prevalence of dental caries was 82 % with mean decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) ± SD 5.5±4.3 teeth. No missing teeth were found (mt=0), and the mean filled teeth (ft) was only 0.02. The teeth most affected by dental caries were the upper right and left central inci-sors, followed by the upper right and left lateral incisors, lower molars, upper molars, upper canines, lower canines and lower central incisors. The least affected were the lower right and left lateral incisors. Factors that affected dmft were tooth brushing frequency, brushing with parental assistance or supervision, time brush-ing started, feeding pattern, and the type of milk, candy and sweet beverages consumption. It can be concluded that children in the studied area had a high prevalence of caries and a high level of severity. Thus, oral health care programs should be promoted in Vientiane. Key words: early childhood caries, feeding, oral hygiene, Lao PD