Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Assistant Professor of Department of Pedodontics, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
2 Dentist
Abstract
Background: Nursing caries (NC) syndrome is a severe form of tooth decay, which is primarily due to bad feeding habits, “feeding in bed while sleeping”. This kind of tooth decay usually affects the anterior teeth of 2-5 year-old children. Both bottle-feeding and breast-feeding have been implicated in the initiation of dental caries. The decrease in salivary flow rate during sleep, which reduces the diluting and buffering effects of saliva as well as the pooling of sweet fluids around the teeth, results in a highly cariogenic environment for acidegenic microorganism such as streptococcus mutants and lactobacilli. The first visit to the pediatric dentist should be done before the child's first birthday.Materials and Methods: The prevalence of NC was determined in 2-5 year-old children in Shiraz drawn from private and public nursing schools.Results: The prevalence of NC in this sample was 9.4 percent, which is acceptable in comparison with the results of other studies.Conclusion: There is no significant difference between sexes, parental education and occupation with respect to the occurrence at NC. However, the addition of sugar to milk,prolonged bottle and breast-feeding, sweet snacks between meals and neglected dental care, appear to be the most important etiological factors.Key words: Nursing caries, Age, Etiology
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