Developing an Interpretable Machine Learning Framework to Predict and Analyse Early Childhood Caries in Children Aged 2 to 6 Years: A Single-centre Observational Study

The machine learning models effectively identified key determinants of ECC, underscoring the critical roles of maternal education, dietary patterns, and lifestyle-related factors. Risk-based stratification derived from these models may inform targeted early preventive interventions in both clinical and community settings, thereby contributing to a reduction in the overall burden of ECC.