Association between early childhood caries and behavior as measured by the Child Behavior Checklist.

PURPOSE: This study's purpose was to use a standardized behavioral assessment instrument to compare the observed behavior of caries-free (CF) with caries-active (CA) children requiring restoration under general anesthesia (GA).
METHODS: Healthy 30- to 60-month-olds, either CF or in need of dental restoration under GA, were selected in 4 equal-size cohorts of 30 subjects from both private practice settings and a clinic. Trained assistants administered the child behavior checklist, a standardized, age-appropriate instrument to assess child behavior problems to parents at the time of appointment.
RESULTS: The 60 CF and 60 CA subjects did not differ significantly (P<.05) between clinic and private practice for age, gender, and race and were collapsed into groups of 60 CF and 60 CA children (mean ages=41.2 and 45.2 months, respectively). Compared to CF children, CA children had significantly higher (more problems) scores for categories of: anxious/depressed; sleep problems; aggressive behavior; externalizing and total problems; and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems. CA children scores for withdrawn, sleep problems, and attention deficit/hyperactivity problems were also higher than normal, but neither group had scores outside normative ranges.
CONCLUSIONS: No significant age, gender, behavior, or race differences were noted for site of care, but caries-active children had significantly more behavior problems than caries-free children.