The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental caries and its association with infant feeding and oral health-related behavior in Japanese children between the ages of 18 months and 3 years. A total of 387 infants were initially examined at the age of 18 months (or 19 months in some cases) and then again at 3 years (or at 3 years 1 month in some cases). The primary objective was to identify factors contributing to the prevalence of caries in children aged 18 months. The secondary objective was to follow up children with no caries at the age of 18 months to seek potential correlations between background factors and the increment of caries by the age of 3 years. In an adjusted multivariate logistic regression model, children who continued breastfeeding were approximately 7 times more likely to have dental caries at 18 months of age than those who did not. Infants brought in for an oral examination and consultation at around 12 months of age were less likely to develop dental caries at 18 months of age than those who were not. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that infants who did not receive a dental check-up at 12 months of age showed a significantly higher incidence of dental caries at 3 years of age. The present results suggest that prolonged breastfeeding is a risk factor for early childhood caries at 18 months of age, and that infants in whom a regular oral care program is implemented from the age of 12 months are less likely to develop early childhood caries at 18 months or 3 years.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate change in the size of the jaw and deciduous teeth in Japanese children over the past 40 years by performing measurements on plaster models of the dental arch obtained from children born between 2007 and 2009 (2000s group) and children born between 1968 and 1974 (70s) group. A total of 61 children were enrolled in the 2000s group, comprising 25 boys (average age, 4 years 5 months) and 36 girls (average age, 4 years 4 months), and 93 children in the 70s group, comprising 45 boys (4 years 6 months) and 48 girls (4 years 4 months). The mesiodistal width of the crown, dental arch width, dental arch length, dental arch height, and available arch length in these groups were measured using a 3D measurement system and the sums of the mesiodistal width of the crown and tooth size-arch length discrepancies calculated. The results of the two groups were statistically compared and the following conclusions reached: the size of deciduous teeth has not changed statistically over the last 40 years; the size of the dental arch has decreased in boys (p<0.01), while remaining approximately the same in girls; and the tooth size-arch length discrepancy has decreased, especially in boys (p<0.01). These results indicate that the interdental spaces of the deciduous dentition have decreased, increasing the risk of crowding in Japanese children.

To investigate differences in alveolar growth during the primary dentition period among different age groups, dental arch width, length, and height were measured in 93 dental arch plaster models obtained A comparison was also performed to determine whether there was any difference in change between 4 and 5 years of age. The results showed age-and sex-dependent differences in growth patterns in primary dental arch width, length, and height. The amount of change was greater in the 2000s group than in the 70s group, suggesting that yearly growth between 4 and 5 years of age has increased over the last 40 years.