Association between early childhood caries and feeding practices among 3-5-year-old children of Indore, India

Background: The impact of early childhood caries (ECC) seen in infants and young children to the society is enormous. Most studies on ECC have been focused on specific ethnic and lower socioeconomic communities, however fewer studies are conducted in India as compared to other developed countries. Aims: The study investigates the association between selected feeding practices and the presence of early ECC among 3-5 year-old children of Indore city. Methodology: A cross-sectional sample consisted of 640 preschool children of different socioeconomic status (SES). A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information about demographic backgrounds and feeding history of the child. The caries experience of children was recorded. Statistical Analysis: The data were evaluated using Chi-square and multivariate logistic regression. Results: The prevalence of ECC was found to be 64%. ECC was found to be significantly associated with age, SES, breastfeeding for more than 1 year, bottle feeding, bottle content used other than water, feeding at night, and cup drinking after 1 year. Conclusion: The present study indicates that ECC and feeding habits have a significant relationship. The content of the bottle feed and feeding practices at night are the strongest factors among all feeding habits associated with ECC