CHILD-REARING PRACTICES AND NURSING CARIES

Objective. To determine which child-rearing practices are associated w ith nursing caries. Design. Cross-sectional study. Setting. Hospital-b ased general pediatric clinic. Participants. Sequential sample of 110 healthy children aged 18 to 36 months. Outcome measures. Feeding pract ices of children, limit-setting issues, and familial dental health wer e determined by maternal interview. Nursing caries were diagnosed by d ental examination. Results. Nursing caries were found in 22 (20%) of t he children. Ninety percent of children with and without caries were b ottle-feeding at 12 and 18 months of age. Ninety-one percent of childr en with caries and 84% without were still drinking a nighttime bottle at 18 months (P = .33). The mothers of children with caries were found to have fewer years of education, 8.9 vs 10.8 years (P = .02), and we re more likely to have eight or more cavities, 55% vs 19% (P = .002). More infants in the caries group had been breast-fed, 72% vs 46% (P = .02), although length of breast-feeding was similar, 5.4 vs 6.7 months . Fewer children with caries drank fluoridated tap water, 27% vs 54% ( P = .05), but there were no differences in topical fluoride use, denta l hygiene practices, or visits to the dentist. Conclusions. These find ings fail to substantiate a straightforward relationship between child -rearing practices and nursing caries and suggest that well-designed p rospective studies are need to clarify the etiology of early caries.