BackgroundEarly childhood caries (ECC) is a major oral problem affecting the health and wellbeing of children worldwide. Diet quality is a better predictor of ECC risk than single foods or specific nutrients. The purposes of this study were to assess the associations between ECC and diet quality among 2- to 5-year-old Chinese children.MethodsA total of 150 eligible children were included in this study. The decayed, missing, or filled surface (dmfs) score was recorded for each child by dental examination. All participants were divided into three groups based on their age and dmfs score [the caries-free group, the ECC group, and the severe early childhood caries (S-ECC) group]. Parents were invited to complete a questionnaire on the general characteristics and oral health behaviors of the participants. The information of 24-h dietary intake from each child was captured via a mobile APP. The Chinese diet balance index for preschool children (DBI_C) indicators score, high bound score (HBS), low bound score (LBS), and diet quality distance (DQD) score were calculated to assess the diet quality of study subjects. The associations of ECC with HBS, LBS, DQD score, and DBI_C indicators score were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test and multivariable logistic regression analysis.ResultsIn this study, 21, 31, and 98 children were diagnosed with caries-free, ECC, and S-ECC, respectively. Statistical analysis revealed that the risk of ECC and S-ECC were significantly increased with the DQD score (OR = 1.283 and 1.287, respectively), but both were not associated with HBS and LBS (P > 0.05). In the meantime, the risk of ECC and S-ECC were significantly increased with the Grains score (OR = 1.623 and 1.777, respectively), and significantly decreased with the Food diversity score (OR = 0.271 and 0.315, respectively). Moreover, the risk of S-ECC also significantly decreased with the Vegetables score (OR = 0.137).ConclusionBoth ECC and S-ECC were associated with a high degree of dietary imbalance and grains intake as well as a low degree of food diversity among Chinese children aged 2–5 years. In addition, S-ECC was also associated with a low degree of vegetable intake.

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) is one of the most common chronic diseases among children. Diet quality assessment is better than single food or specific nutrient assessment in predicting the risk of ECC. This study is aimed to explore the correlations between diet quality and ECC among 2- to 5-year-old Chinese children. Methods: Totally 150 two- to five-year-old children were selected in this study. The decayed, missing or filled surface (dmfs) of each child was examined and recorded. Then the children were divided by ages and dmfs scores into the caries-free group, ECC group, and severe ECC (SECC) group respectively. The information of 24-h dietary intake from each child was captured via a mobile APP. The diet quality of each child was assessed by calculating the Chinese diet balance index for preschool children (DBI_C) indicators scores, high bound score (HBS), low bound score (LBS) and diet quality distance (DQD). Correlations of HBS, LBS, DQD and scores of 10 food group indicators with ECC were evaluated using rank sum test and logistic regression analysis.Results: The probabilities of ECC and SECC are positively correlated with HBS (OR: ECC=1.102, SECC=1.098) and with DQD (OR: ECC=1.117, SECC=1.114), but not correlated with LBS (P>0.05) among the 2- to 5-year-old children. The severity of caries among the 2- to 5-year-old children are positively correlated with the score of Grains (OR: ECC=1.322, SECC=2.929) and negatively with the score of Food diversity (OR: ECC=0.378, SECC=0.034), but not correlated with other indicators. Conclusions: The possibilities of ECC and SECC among the 2- to 5-year-old children are positively correlated with the degree of excessive dietary intake and dietary imbalance. The severity of caries among the 2- to 5-year-old children is positively correlated with grains intake and negatively with food diversity.