The prevalence of dental caries in preschool children and its influencing factors and preventive care measures

XU Li

Abstract：Objective:To study the influencing factors of dental caries and preventive care measures.Methods:All 500 preschool children screened for dental caries in our hospital from October 2023 to October 2024 were selected for caries screening,and preschool children were divided into caries and non-caries groups.The data questionnaire collect-ed all children's gender,age,parents,per capita family income,brushing time,regular brushing,regular oral examina-tion,gargle after meals,sweet eating sweets,and fluoride toothpaste.Logistic regression analysis was conducted to ob-tain high risk factors affecting dental caries in preschool children.Results:A total of 175 dental caries were screened in 500 preschool children,The incidence rate was 35.00%.Single factor shows,regular tooth brushing in the morning and evening,regular oral examination,gargle after meals,eating sweets,and the use of fluoride toothpaste are associated with the occurrence of dental caries in preschool children,Statistical difference(P＜0.05).Multiple factors show that,Did not brush your teeth regularly in the morning or evening(OR=4.909,95%CI=3.302～7.299),no regular oral ex-amination(OR=3.548,95%CI=2.395～5.256),gargle after meals(OR=3.746,95%CI=2.543～5.520),frequent con-sumption of sweets(OR=5.969,95%CI=3.958～9.000),no fluoride toothpaste(OR=2.250,95%CI=1.546～3.274)was a high-risk factor affecting the occurrence of dental caries in preschool children(P＜0.05 and OR＞1).Conclu-sion:The occurrence of dental caries in preschool children is related to no regular brushing in the morning and evening,no regular oral examination,gargle after meals,frequent eating sweets and not using fluoride toothpaste.Preventive measures should be taken to reduce the risk of dental caries.