Relation between Past and Present Dietary Sugar Intake and Dental Caries in A High Caries Population

Objective: the main objective of this study was to investigate relationship between re-ported dietary habits and dental caries in five and six-year-old children referred for dental extractions. materials and methods: two hundred children were examined using standard caries di-agnostic criteria. the numbers of decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth were re-corded. a food frequency table was completed by the parents of each child and analyzedthrough weighting the cariogenic potentialby the frequency of consumption, and summing the two scores. results: the mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) was 7.1 (sd=3.29). there was no statistically significant correlation between the reported dietary intake and the caries rate in the study population p=0.07.use of bottles with sugared drinks during infancy was associated with increased caries levels (p<0.01). conclusion: poor infant feeding practices promote caries in childhood. a method of diet assessment which would evaluate diet-related health education is required.