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Early Childhood Tooth Decay

Data Sources: Rapid Risk Factor Surveillance System (RRFSS), 2007 & 2010.

Sample: Families with children aged 1 to 4 in the KFL&A area.

Released: May 2011

Children who use a bottle

Figure A. Children, 1 to 4 who currently use a bottle, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who currently use a bottle

*Use with caution due to high variability

Table A. Children, 1 to 4, who currently use a bottle, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes	No
Total - both 2007 and 2010	24.5% (18.8, 31.3)	75.5% (68.7, 81.2)
2007	27.5*% (19.4, 37.3)	72.5% (62.7, 80.6)
2010	21.5*% (14.2, 31.4)	78.5% (68.6, 85.8)

*Use with caution due to high variability

Interpretation for Figure A

76.0% (70.0%, 82.0%) of KFL&A area children aged 1 to 4 do not currently use a bottle. There was no change in reported bottle usage between 2007 and 2010.

Children who do not use a bottle, but have in the past

Figure B. Children, 1 to 4, who currently do not use a bottle, but have in the past, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who currently do not use a bottle but have in the past

*Use with caution due to high variability

Table B. Children, 1 to 4, who currently do not use a bottle, but have in the past, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes	No
Total - both 2007 and 2010	71.8% (63.7, 78.7)	27.2% (20.4, 35.2)
2007	66.2% (54.1, 76.5)	31.8*% (21.8, 43.8)
2010	77.1% (66, 85.4)	22.9*% (14.6, 34)

*Use with caution due to high variability

Interpretation for Figure B

72.3% (65.1%, 79.5%) of KFL&A area children aged 1 to 4 have used a bottle in the past. There was no change in reported past bottle usage between 2007 and 2010.

Children who use a sippy cup

Figure C. Children, 1 to 4, who currently use a sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who currently use a sippy cup

Table C. Children, 1 to 4, who currently use a sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes	No
Total - both 2007 and 2010	62.9% (55.6, 69.6)	36.6% (29.9, 43.9)
2007	63.2% (52.9, 72.4)	35.8% (26.7, 46.1)
2010	62.6% (52.1, 72)	37.4% (28, 47.9)

Interpretation for Figure C

63.6% (56.8%, 70.4%) of KFL&A area children aged 1 to 4 currently use a sippy cup. There was no change in reported sippy cup usage between 2007 and 2010.

Children who have used a sippy cup in the past

Figure D. Children, 1 to 4, who have used a sippy cup in the past, of those who do not currently use a sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who have used a sippy cup in the past, of those who do not currently use a sippy cup

Table D. Children, 1 to 4, who have used a sippy cup in the past, of those who do not currently use a sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes
Total - both 2007 and 2010	85.6% (74.8, 92.3)
2007	80.8% (64.1, 90.9)
2010	90.4% (73.2, 97)

Interpretation for Figure D

85.9% (77.8%, 94.0%) of KFL&A area children aged 1 to 4 have used a sippy cup in the past. There was no change in reported past sippy cup usage between 2007 and 2010.

Liquids used in bottles and sippy cups

Figure E. Children, 1 to 4, who had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup*, KFL&A

*Meals or regularly scheduled snack times were excluded.

Table E. Children, 1 to 4, who had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup*, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes, in a bottle	Yes, in a sippy cup
Total - both 2007 and 2010	69.7% (61.9, 76.7)	73.9% (66.9, 79.9)
2007	73.4% (62.1, 82.3)	75.5% (65.3, 83.5)
2010	66.3% (54.9, 76)	72.3% (62.2, 80.6)

*Meals or regularly scheduled snack times were excluded.

Interpretation for Figure E

68.8% (61.5%, 76.1%) of bottle users and 73.0% (66.6%, 79.4%) of sippy cup users have had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup outside of regular meal or snack times.

Frequency of liquid other than water used in bottles or sippy cups

Figure F. Frequency in which children, 1 to 4, had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing children frequency in which children 1 to 4 had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup

*Use with caution due to high variability

Table F. Frequency in which children, 1 to 4, had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Category	In a bottle	In a sippy cup
More than once per day	48.4% (38.5, 58.4)	20.5*% (13.8, 29.3)
Once per day	48.9% (40.2, 57.7)	21.2*% (15.1, 29.0)

*Use with caution due to high variability

Interpretation for Figure F

Most children have had a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup more than once per day.

Type of liquid (excluding water) used in bottles or sippy cup

Figure G. Type of liquid (excluding water) children, 1 to 4, had in their bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing type of liquid (excluding water) children 1 to 4 had in their bottle or sippy cup

*Use with caution due to high variability

Table G. Type of liquid (excluding water) children, 1 to 4, had in their bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Type of Liquid	In a bottle	In a sippy cup
Milk	76.1% (68.5, 82.4)	82.4% (48.4, 41)
Undiluted fruit juice	10.0*% (5.9, 16.5)	16.5% (20.4, 14.9)
Diluted fruit juice	14.2*% (9.4, 21)	21% (33.8, 26.9)

*Use with caution due to high variability

Interpretation for Figure G

Milk is the most common non-water liquid to be found in bottles, 76.0% (69.3%, 73.0%), or sippy cups, 49.2% (42.0%, 56.4%).

Children who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup

Figure H. Children, 1 to 4, who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup

*Use with caution due to high variability

NR - not releasable due to small numbers.

Table H. Children, 1 to 4, who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes, with a bottle	Yes, with a sippy cup
Total - both 2007 and 2010	20.4% (14.5, 27.9)	8.2*% (4.8, 13.7)
2007	26.0% (17.3, 37.0)	12.2*% (6.8, 21.0)
2010	15.0*% (11.3, 26.0)	NR

*Use with caution due to high variability

NR - not releasable due to small numbers.

Interpretation for Figure H

KFL&A area children are significantly more likely to go to bed with a bottle, 20.1% (13.8%, 26.4%), than with a sippy cup, 8.1% (4.2%, 12.0%).

Frequency in which children went to bed with bottle or sippy cup

Figure I. Frequency in which children, 1 to 4, who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing frequency in which children 1 to 4 who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup

*Use with caution due to high variability

** Note that the denominator for this table is all the children that go to sleep with a bottle or sippy cup.

Table I. Frequency in which children, 1 to 4, who went to bed with a bottle or sippy cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Category	Yes
More than once per day	25.9*% (13.8, 43.3)
Once per day	38.8*% (24.4, 55.4)

*Use with caution due to high variability

** Note that the denominator for this table is all the children that go to sleep with a bottle or sippy cup.

Interpretation for Figure I

More than half of children aged 1 to 4 went to sleep with a liquid other than water in their bottle or sippy cup at least once a day.

Children who use a regular cup

Figure J. Children, 1 to 4, who use a regular cup, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who use a regular cup

Table J. Children, 1 to 4, who use a regular cup, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes
Total - both 2007 and 2010	82.7% (76.5, 87.6)
2007	78.4% (68.9, 85.7)
2010	87.2% (78.2, 92.8)

Interpretation for Figure J

83.2% (78.8%, 88.4%) of KFL&A area children, 1 to 4, use a regular cup. There was no change in regular cup usage from 2007 to 2010.

How many children clean their teeth at least once a day

Figure K. Children, 1 to 4, whose parents help clean their teeth at least once daily, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 whose parents help clean their teeth at least once daily

Table K. Children, 1 to 4, whose parents help clean their teeth at least once daily, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes
Total - both 2007 and 2010	91.2% (86.0, 94.6)
2007	92.2% (85.3, 96.0)
2010	90.3% (81.2, 95.2)

Interpretation for Figure K

91.8% (87.9%, 95.7%) of KFL&A area children, 1 to 4, are helped to clean their teeth at least once daily. There was no change in assisted teeth cleaning from 2007 to 2010.

Children who have any tooth decay or fillings

Figure L. Children, 1 to 4, who have had any tooth decay or required fillings, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who have had any tooth decay or required fillings

*Use with caution due to high variability

Table L. Children, 1 to 4, who have had any tooth decay or required fillings, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes
Total - both 2007 and 2010	14.4*% (9.9, 20.5)
2007	11.9*% (7.0, 19.5)
2010	16.9*% (10.0, 27.1)

*Use with caution due to high variability

Interpretation for Figure L

14.4% (9.5%, 19.3%) of KFL&A area children, 1 to 4, have had tooth decay or required fillings. There was no change in this proportion from 2007 to 2010.

Children who have been to the dentist for a regular check-up

Figure M. Children, 1 to 4, who have been to the dentist for a regular check-up, KFL&A

bar chart showing children 1 to 4 who have been to the dentist for a regular check-up

Table M. Children, 1 to 4, who have been to the dentist for a regular check-up, KFL&A, % (95% Confidence Interval)
Year	Yes
Total - both 2007 and 2010	50.9% (43.6, 58.1)
2007	51.5% (41.4, 61.5)
2010	50.3% (39.9, 60.6)

Interpretation for Figure M

51.3% (44.3%, 58.3%) of KFL&A area children, 1 to 4, have visited the dentist for a regular check-up. There has been no change in dentist usage between 2007 and 2010.

Age a child was first taken to the dentist for a regular check-up

Figure N. Age, in years, a child was first taken to the dentist for a regular check-up, KFL&A

bar chart showing age, in years, a child was first taken to the dentist for a regular check-up

*Use with caution due to high variability

NR - not releasable due to small numbers.

Table N. Age, in years, a child was first taken to the dentist for a regular check-up, KFL&A % (95% Confidence Interval)
Age	Yes
One	28.2% (20.0, 38.3)
Two	28.2*% (16.4, 40.9)
Three	25.7*% (17.9, 44.8)
Four	NR
Don't know	NR

*Use with caution due to high variability

NR - not releasable due to small numbers.

Interpretation for Figure N

In KFL&A, 28.2% (20.0, 38.3) of children were taken to the dentist by age one. There were no significant differences in how old a child was when first taken to the dentist.

Notes

The RRFSS is a random-digit-dialed telephone survey of adults aged 18 years and older, conducted by the Institute for Social Research at York University, on behalf of KFL&A Public Health.

Confidence intervals explained

Researchers look at the "confidence levels" of percentages being compared to decide if there is a statistically significant difference between percentages. A statistically significant difference means that:

the difference between two percentages is unlikely to have occurred by chance alone, and
there is a true difference or change in the percentages.

In this report, 95% confidence intervals will accompany each percentage in all figures and tables. This interval represents the range in which we are 95% confident the true percentage will fall within. In tables, the 95% confidence intervals will be written with the percentage, followed by the 95% confidence interval range in brackets (e.g., 25% (12.3, 32.4)). In figures, the 95% confidence interval is represented by vertical bars in each bar line.