relation between past and present dietary sugar intake and dental caries in a high caries population

objective: the main objective of this study was to investigate relationship between reported dietary habits and dental caries in five and six-year-old children referred for dental extractions. materials and methods: two hundred children were examined using standard caries diagnostic criteria. the numbers of decayed, missing and filled deciduous teeth were recorded. a food frequency table was completed by the parents of each child and analyzed through weighting the cariogenic potential by the frequency of consumption, and summing the two scores. results: the mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth (dmft) was 7.1 (sd=3.29). there was no statistically significant correlation between the reported dietary intake and the caries rate in the study population p=0.07. use of bottles with sugared drinks during infancy was associated with increased caries levels (p<0.01). conclusion: poor infant feeding practices promote caries in childhood. a method of diet assessment which would evaluate diet-related health education is required.