Examination of the relationship between early childhood caries and maternal factors in 3-5-year-old children in Uşak

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a rapidly progressing infectious disease that can lead to negative consequences such as pain, malnutrition, speech difficulties, and growth and developmental delays in children. A mother's nutritional habits, oral hygiene, overall health, and the care she provides to her child can influence the development of ECC.The aim of this thesis study is to examine the relationship between maternal factors and ECC and to highlight the importance of this issue. A total of 100 participants, including 50 children aged 3-5 years and their mothers, who applied to Uşak University Faculty of Dentistry, were included in our study. After obtaining informed consent from the mothers, they were asked to fill out a questionnaire containing questions about themselves and their children. Following this, DMFS/PUFA-dmfs/pufa indices were recorded for both mothers and children. In our study group, the prevalence of ECC was found to be 98%. A statistically significant relationship was detected between ECC and the mother's medication use during pregnancy, gum chewing habits, the habit of checking the temperature/taste of the child's food with her mouth, and the practice of sharing a toothbrush with the child (p<0.05). Keywords : early childhood caries, maternal factors, dmfs, pufa.