Methods: In 2000, 2003, 2006, and 2010, cross-sectional survey of 979 (2000), 1799 (2003), 582 (2006), and 6255 (2010) children under 6 years old were surveyed. Dental caries was examined according to the WHO criteria. Outcome variable was ECC and explanatory variables were urban/rural area. The multiple logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender were performed.
Results: The prevalences of ECC were 58.0% (2000), 70.3% (2003), 44.3% (2006), and 61.7% (2010). ECC was more prevalent in rural area: Odds ratios (OR) for ECC in rural area were 1.39 (p=0.050) in 2000, 1.44 (p=0.018) in 2003, 1.47 (p=0.273) in 2006, and 1.17 (p=0.038) in 2010.
Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the prevalence of ECC was high among Korean children. The gap of ECC between urban and rural area was decreased in 2010 compared to 2000. Early intervention programs for pre-school children’s oral health could be worked in Korea.