prevalence of early childhood caries and the related factors among 3-5- year-old children in babol, iran

Statement of the problem: regular dental checkups to diagnose early childhood caries (ecc) are critical for maintaining and improving children's oral health and well-being. the prevalence of ecc is important for planning proper oral health programs. purpose: this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of ecc and its related factors in children aged 3 to 5 years at babol, iran. materials and method: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 280 children aged 3-5 years in the kindergartens of babol. children were examined for dental caries according to world health organization criteria. the variables such as age, gender, health, nutritional hab-its, parents' educational level, parents' job status, and level of dental care were recorded in the questionnaire. data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square and anova and p< 0.05 was con-sidered significant. results: average decayed-missing-filled teeth (dmft) were 4.03±3.6 and 73.2% in children with ecc, while 26.8% were caries-free. a significant association was found between age, snack consumption, father’s education, mother’s job, nocturnal drinking milk, tooth-brushing, and a history of dental check up before age 2 with ecc. conclusion: the results of this analysis showed a high prevalence of ecc in babol. there-fore, educational and interventional programs in prevention and dental health care, especially for mothers, nurses, and teachers of these age groups, should be considered