Relationship between different stages of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) with dental development

Abstract

ECC (Early Childhood Caries) is a major global problem affecting millions of preschool children worldwide. ECC not only affects the teeth but also the consequences of this disease can cause more problems in the health of the child. One of the issues that has been less addressed in the field of ECC is the study of the effect and relationship between early childhood caries and its different intensities on the development rate of lower permanent tooth buds (and consequently the child's dental age). And since understanding this relationship can further highlight the importance of oral health of the child even during milk dentition, and the awareness of parents and medical staff about the impact of premature caries on the child's dental development, help them maintain better oral health and Prompt treatment of dental caries In addition, the importance of this issue for orthodontists in terms of determining the treatment plan and time to start orthodontic treatment in children with ECC, studying this study can be very useful. materials and methods: In this study, first 45 children with severe ECC scientific definitions were selected. Then, for each child who had severe ECC, two more children, one with mild to moderate ECC and the other with moderate to severe ECC, and at the same time in terms of study parameters (child gender, time frame of first tooth eruption and child's chronological age and life Rot) were matched with each other, were selected. Thus, 45 groups were formed, each with 3 members. As mentioned, in each group, the members are match in terms of the parameters considered in the study and differ only in the degree and severity of ECC. Their teeth were determined by Demirjian method and the mean differences of dental age between different intensities of ECC were calculated. Results: In the present study, there was a significant relationship between early childhood caries and the rate of development of lower permanent tooth buds (or dental age). It was significantly reduced in children with lower caries severity and at the same time matched in other factors affecting dental age, and this was true for both girls and boys, indicating

that The slowing down of the permanent lower bud development is due to the increase in ECC intensity in both sexes. Conclusion: With the gradual increase in the severity of ECC and the progression of its clinical stage in children, dental age is significantly reduced compared to children who have lower caries severity and at the same time are matched in other factors affecting dental age. Key word: Early childhood caries, dental development, dental age