Early childhood caries (ECC) is still a problem? An epidemiological and aetiological approach

The term Early Childhood Caries (ECC) was formulated by the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (AAPD, 2008), to describe the presence at least of one decayed, filled or missed tooth in the decidous dentition. Therefore, it is recommended that the term Early Childhood Caries (ECC). This thesis was dived into three papers with these aims:1. The main objective of the first paper is aimed to describe the prevalence of ECC by reviewing published reports, and secondly to assess the rule of background factors on the ECC prevalence.2. The second paper evaluates the influence of several determinants, like as socio-economical level (SES), behavioural factors (dietary and oral hygiene) on the presence of ECC in pre-school children in the town of Sassari. The null hypothesis was that no associations are present between ECC presence and socio-behavioural factors. To validate this hypothesis a cross-sectional case control study was designed and performed.3. The hypothesis behind the third report was that the use of a fluoride food supplement in lactating mothers increases the fluoride concentration in breast milk.