PREVALENCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD CARIES AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH, NORTH EAST AND MATHURA CITY, NORTH INDIA.

*Dr. Menia Gumro, Dr. Sonal Gupta, Dr. Mahima Panwar, Dr. Simran Isha and Dr. Shilpi Dutta

ABSTRACT

Background: Dental problems in early childhood have been shown to be predictive of future dental problems, growth and development by interfering with comfort, nutrition, concentration, and school participation. Aim: To compare the prevalence of early childhood caries in 3-5 years old school going children in North East and North India. Materials and Methods: School based cross sectional study in 1200 children, Group 1 consist of 600 school going children of 3-5 years from North East and Group 2 consist of 600 school going children of 3-5 years from North India. Result: North East study population had lower prevalence of ECC (41.7%) as compared to the North India with a prevalence of 51.3%. Conclusion: Overall, dental and oral health care in India is not in optimal condition. The increasing prevalence of early childhood caries needs dental health programmes, which target the specific segments of the population. Hence, an urgent need to prevent the rising dental diseases in India.

Keywords: Prevalence, early childhood caries, North East, North India.