Authors Faraz Siddiqui Department of Health Sciences, University of York, United kingdom Farzeen Tanwir Department of Periodontology ,Bahria University Health Sciences Campus Syeda Natasha Zaidi Department of Periodontology ,Bahria University Health Sciences Campus Nabeel Hafeez Department of Oral Biology, PNS Shifa Hospital, Rizwan Ullah Department of Oral Biology, Sindh Institute of Oral Health Sciences Tauqeer Bibi Department of Periodontology ,Bahria University Health Sciences Campus Keywords: Early childhood caries, Anemia, prevalence, oral health Abstract

Objectives: The primary and secondary objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of Early Childhood Caries among 2-6 year old children living in a low income, urban community of Karachi and to describe oral health and hygiene in the study population showing association be- tween Early Childhood Caries and anemia in 2-6 year old children, which was also the aim of our study.

Methods: A cross-sectional, community-based survey was conducted on a total of 409 children in Sultanabad between 2 and 6 years of age, Karachi. A preformed, structured questionnaire collected information on child related, parental, and household characteristics. Included participants were one child, either male or female, aged between 2 years and 6 years at the time of the survey and the fam- ily was a permanent resident of Sultanabad, who had been living in the same vicinity for at least the last 6 months. Exclusion criteria were children with dento-facial or skeletal deformities such as cleft lip/palate or any congenital dysplasia. Statistical procedures and analyses including descriptive analy- sis, uni-variate and multivariable modeling were all performed on STATA version 12.

Results: A total of 409 households from 6 blocks were surveyed from the community. The overall prevalence of Early Childhood Caries was 52.5% (95% CI: 47.7%-57.3%), which included 29.3% (25.0%-33.6%) mild/moderate Early Childhood Caries and 23.2% (19.2%-27.2%) severe Early Child- hood Caries. Frequency was higher in older age groups and in male children. The zero-inflated nega- tive binomial regression model identified the child’s anaemic status to be associated with DMFT scores; we found significant association between mean DMFT scores and the presence of severe anaemia in children.

Conclusion: The study concluded that high burden of Early Childhood Caries in the community, most of which comprises decayed, untreated teeth. The findings add to the current evidence showing asso- ciation between Early Childhood Caries and anaemia in 2-6 year old children.

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