Journal of North Khorasan

Background & Objectives: Oral health is strongly correlated with good diet. Therefore, a nutrient-rich diet with minimal cariogenic effects is crucial. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the food patterns in children who were between 3-6 years old, with early childhood caries and caries free in Mashhad kindergartens

Materials & Methods: Tooth caries status of 200 children was recorded. The parents were asked to complete the food frequency questionnaire. Food patterns were determined by factor analysis. Regression analysis, independent t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analysis. The statistical significance level was set at 0.05.

Results: The study successfully identified cariogenic and non cariogenic food patterns. The chance of dental caries increased by 30 folds for every unit increase in  cariogenic dietary pattern score (p = 0.003), whereas there wasnt any significant correlation between non cariogenic food pattern and caries. The consumption of sweet foods and snacks as well as total carbohydrate intake was considerably higher among the cariogenic food pattern group (p <0.001). On the other hand, fat and micronutrients intake such as folate and potassium was significantly associated with caries­ free group (p = 0.003), (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Cariogenic food patterns increased the possibility of dental caries, while non cariogenic food patterns had less effect on decreasing this likelihood.