Prevalence of Early Childhood Caries among 3–5-year-old Children in Qassim, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study
Nourh Ibrahim AlissaAbstract
Background:
Early childhood caries (ECC) is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting young children and continues to represent an important public health challenge in Saudi Arabia. Population-based data on ECC in Qassim are limited.
Objectives:
To assess the prevalence of ECC among preschool children in Qassim.
Materials and Methods:
This cross-sectional study included 539 children aged 36–71 months from 14 public and private preschools in Qassim. Clinical examinations were performed according to World Health Organization criteria, and caries experience was recorded using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) index. Descriptive statistics were calculated; an independent
Results:
The sample included 246 boys (45.6%) and 293 girls (54.4%), with a mean age of 57 ± 10.6 months. The overall prevalence of ECC was 83.3%, and 16.7% of children were caries-free. Among the 449 children diagnosed with dental caries, 250 (55.7%) were classified as having severe ECC. Age-specific ECC prevalence was 57.1%, 75.9%, and 85.9% among 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children, respectively. The mean dmft score was 5.34 ± 4.42. The decayed component was 4.97 ± 4.18, representing approximately 93% of the total mean dmft score (4.97 out of 5.34), while the missing and filled components were 0.11 ± 0.53 and 0.32 ± 0.97, respectively. No statistically significant differences in mean dmft were observed by gender (Independent
Conclusion:
ECC prevalence and untreated decay were high among preschool children in Qassim, indicating a substantial public health burden and the need for early preventive programs, parental education, and improved access to timely dental care.