Association between sleep patterns and early childhood caries in 3-4-year-old children: A cross-sectional study.

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the sleep practices of children and their association with early childhood caries (ECC) at three different age periods.

Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the sleep practices, feeding practices, and oral hygiene practices of children during nighttime from 0 to 2 years of age. A survey among 550 mothers of children aged 3-4 years with ECC (n = 275) and without ECC (n = 275) was conducted using a pretested and validated questionnaire. The three practices (sleep practices, feeding practices, and oral hygiene practices) of children at 0-3 months, 4-11 months, and 1-2 years of age were recorded and analyzed.

Results: Risk factors associated with ECC at 0-3 months of age were gender (odds ratio [OR]: 0.59, 0.36-0.98), no previous dental visit (OR: 2.30, 1.15-4.59), bedtime (OR: 3.54, 2.01-6.25), and intentional feeding practice at night (OR: 1.83, 1.0-3.35). At 4-11 months of age, no previous dental visit (OR: 3.28, 1.66-6.49), mother's education (OR: 0.42, 0.23-0.76), frequent night wakes (OR: 5.98, 1.89-19.21), and intentional feeding practice at night (OR: 111.09, 32.25-382.68) and, at 1-2 years of age, no previous dental visit (OR: 2.37, 1.45-3.88), intentional feeding practice at night (OR: 19.12, 9.09-40.21), and breastfeeding for more than 2 years (OR: 14.56, 7.17-29.56) were associated with ECC.

Conclusion: Lack of previous dental visit and intentional feeding at night were the common risk factors associated with ECC in children.