Epidemiological study of dental disease factors among young Japanese children

Dental diseases in young children are closely related to lifestyle, hence it is difficult to identify a single causative factor. To prevent and control dental diseases in young children, EBM-based indicators for maintaining and promoting oral health can be established by elucidating the relationships among factors including “host”, “oral cavity environment”, “dental hygiene”, “diet”, “snack eating”, and “others”. The author conducted an epidemiological study in young children (3–6 years) to determine accurate indicators for dental health guidance to help prevent dental diseases, and performed clinical epidemiological analysis and evaluation to examine the relationships between each factor using logistic regression analysis. The results showed that 3 items, “severe PMA”, “severe CAT” and “not undergoing regular dental check-ups” boosted dmf (decayed missing filled) where significance was observed in the odds ratio for all children. The 3 items boosted PMA and significance was observed in odds ratio in all children for “severe dmf”, “severe CAT”, and “snack eating”. These results suggested a correlation between dental caries and gingivitis development, and the correlation was more significant at an earlier age. The results also suggested that CAT is an effective testing method, not only for dental caries but for plaque-induced gingivitis in young children.