Study of severe early childhood caries in children under general anesthesia from a single hospital

Young children are a high-risk group for dental caries. Understanding the prevalence, characteristics of severe early childhood caries (S-ECC), and its associated complications (e.g., pulpitis and periapical periodontitis) is crucial for guiding the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of these conditions. A retrospective analysis was conducted on the dental records of children with S-ECC who received treatment at Jinan Stomatological Hospital from 2018 to 2023. Cases were excluded if they did not meet the S-ECC diagnostic criteria, had intellectual impairment, had other severe systemic diseases with unstable conditions, were duplicate records, or had missing critical data. Data processing was conducted using Python software. Among the 2,357 included 0-5-year-olds with a total of 26,215 primary teeth, 2-3-year-olds were the largest group (34.0%). Primary caries distribution: maxillary molars > mandibular molars > maxillary incisors > maxillary canines > mandibular canines > mandibular incisors. Notably, maxillary incisors had significantly higher rates of deep caries, pulpitis, and periapical periodontitis than other teeth (p < 0.05), showing faster disease progression. This study elucidates the epidemiological characteristics of S-ECC, laying a foundation for targeted prevention and clinical management in high-risk pediatric populations.