Early childhood caries as a possible predictor for caries in first permanent molars

AIM: The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether early childhood caries can be a predictor for caries development in the permanent first molars.
METHODS: One hundred and eighty five children were examined and divided into two groups: those with Early Childhood Caries or ECC (G1) and those that were caries free up to 71 months old (G2). Data about age, gender, race/ethnicity, history of breastfeeding, treatment and follow up were obtained in a personal interview with the patient’s parents or guardians. The Chi-square and Fisher’s tests were conducted to evaluate the relationship between ECC and caries status of the permanent first molars (P< 0.05).
RESULTS: There was no association between ECC and caries development in the first permanent molars (Fisher’s exact test p>0.05). Also relationships between race/ethnicity, history of breastfeeding, treatment and follow up with ECC also did not show any statistical significance between the two groups (x 2; p > 0.05).
CONCLUSION: Results suggested that ECC cannot be used as a single predictor for future caries development in first permanent molars.