Association between eating behavior pattern and caries in a population of children aged 3 to 9 years in the province of Alicante

Introduction: dental caries is the most common contagious infectious disease of childhood. Much has been studied about the effect of a healthy diet on oral health, but little attention has been paid to the importance of eating patterns. Objectives: to establish the relationship between dental caries and eating behavior pattern using the Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) in a sample of children. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out by selecting any boy or girl between 3 and 9 years who attended a dental clinic in the province of Alicante (Spain). An oral examination was performed to diagnose caries in children whose parents signed an informed consent. These parents/caregivers were also given the CEBQ to fill out. Results: a total of 276 children with a mean age of 86.5 months were examined. A higher average score was observed in the "food-avoidant" dimension in: "demand for food" and in the "response to satiety". A statistically significant difference was obtained in the mean values of the variables "slow eating" (p = 0.016) and "response to satiety" (p = 0.001) of the groups with and without caries. That is, the time a person spends eating influences the development of caries. Likewise, the ability of a person to be satisfied is also related to caries. Conclusions: the eating behavior pattern of children is a risk factor associated with infant caries.