Dental Caries Status of Preschool Children in Khartoum Province

Introduction: Dental caries and early childhood caries (ECC) are among the most prevalent health problems of young children. Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the dental caries status in kindergartens children in Khartoum Province. Methods: Six hundred and ten Sudanese children aged 3-5 years were chosen, using multistage sampling technique, from kindergartens in different areas of Khartoum Province. Data was collected via questionnaires and clinical examinations. Questionnaires were completed by direct interviews with mothers of the children. Diagnosis of dental caries was based on the criteria defined by WHO 1987. ECC was diagnosed when the child had two or more dmf maxillary incisor teeth. Results: 199(32.6%) of the children examined were caries free while 411(67.4%) had caries. Mean dmft and dmfs were 3.42 and 6.82 respectively. The" m" and "f" components of the dmft were 0.06 and 0.02 respectively while the "d" component was 3.34.   One hundred and fourty (23-0%) children had ECC with dmft and dmfs of 8.12 and 19.15 respectively. Gender, levels of kindergartens (high or low) and educational levels of parents did not have significant relationship with both dental caries and ECC, while age of the children and frequency of daily tooth brushing had a significant effect on both these conditions. Bottle feeding had a significant relationship with the prevalence of ECC when compared to breast feeding. However, some abusive infants feeding habits, when associated with breast feeding, increased significantly the prevalence of ECC. Conclusion:  the findings of this study highlighted that more care has to be given to the prevention and treatment of dental caries of primary teeth.