Child Temperament and Risk Factors for Early Childhood Caries

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship existed between a mother's perception of her child's temperament and the child's risk factors for early childhood caries (ECC). Methods: Data was collected from 629 records of children ages 0 to 4 who were patients of the University of Iowa's Infant Oral Health Program. Data included: (1) maternal report of child's temperament; (2) knowledge of ECC; (3) dietary and oral hygiene habits; and (4) clinical evidence of cavitated and noncavitated lesions and visible plaque on maxillary incisors. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. Results: Bivariate analyses showed that children reported as "easy" were more likely to: (1) be younger (P=.001); (2) be breast-fed to sleep (P=.046); (3) be breast-fed throughout the night (P=.012); and (4) have their teeth brushed twice daily (P=.006). Children reported as "difficult" were more likely to: (1) be bottle-fed to sleep (P=.002); and (2) have noncavitated lesions (P=.044). Final logistic regression analysis indicated that children perceived as "easy" were more likely to breast-fed throughout the night (odds ratio [OR]=1.77; P=.016), while those perceived as "difficult" were more likely to be bottle-fed to sleep (OR=1.74; P=.016). Conclusions: Maternal reported child temperament may be related to important early childhood caries risk factors.