We attempted to determine ZD1839 price the cut-off age whereby breastfeeding was considered detrimental for dental decay by categorizing the breastfeeding duration into various time points. Of the various time points analysed, we chose to segregate

children at the 10-month mark and found that children who breastfed for more than 10 months were significantly more likely to have severe dental decay (dt and ds) in this study. Gao et al.’s (2010) study also identified prolonged breastfeeding as a predictor for caries occurrence[4]. However, in her study, increased caries risk was associated with prolonged breastfeeding for ‘1–2 years’ and ‘beyond 2 years’ in comparison with those for ‘<12 months’. Despite the difference in the duration of breastfeeding, both studies suggest that the duration, rather than the history of breastfeeding, may play a significant role in caries activity. Some of the proposed hypotheses for this phenomenon may be because older children who continue to breastfeed had an overall higher number of food intakes per day than those who were weaned off breastfeeding at an earlier age.

Erickson et al.[25] proposed that although breast milk alone would not cause ECC, it could potentially aggravate ECC severity when combined with other carbohydrates. click here The data on breastfeeding and its impact on early childhood caries are limited, and more studies are needed to investigate this relationship. Malay children had significantly higher prevalence of dental decay (yes/no) but no difference in severity of dental decay when compared about with children of the other ethnicities. This may be attributed to several cariogenic homecare practices in Malay children. Compared with parents of other ethnicities, Malay parents were more likely to report that their child fell asleep while breastfeeding or drinking from a bottle containing milk, juice, or something sweet (P = 0.012), were more likely to breastfeed their children for a longer duration (P = 0.002), and were also less likely to withhold

between-meal cariogenic snacks from their children when they fussed for them (P = 0.047). Similar observations were found in Gao et al.’s (2010) study, where the Malay ethnicity had a significant link to oral homecare practices and caries rate[4]. The differences in homecare practices, however, were not identified in that study. Adair et al.[26] established that parental attitudes and their perceived ability to control their children’s tooth-brushing and sugar-snacking habits could significantly impact the establishment of habits favourable to oral health. Gao et al.’s (2010) study demonstrated that specific knowledge, such as the awareness of the detrimental effect of bedtime feeding and the awareness of sugar as the main reason for caries, was more important than generic parental knowledge or attitude (e.g., the awareness of early childhood caries) in influencing oral homecare practices[4].