Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the socio-demographic and behavioural correlates of caries experience and sugar intake patterns among pre-school children in Uganda. Methods. Five hundred and eighty-nine, 3-5-year-old children (51% boys, response rate = 85%), attending nursery schools in urban and peri-urban settings in central Kampala and Nakawa, respectively, were clinically examined for dental caries using the dmft index. Visible plaque on the labial surfaces of their maxillary incisors was recorded as a proxy for oral hygiene habits. A questionnaire designed to assess socio-demographic factors and sugar habits was completed by their caregivers in face-to-face interviews. Results. The mean dmft scores were 1.7, 2.4 and 3.1, and 42%, 44% and 42% had visible plaque among 3-, 4- and 5-year-olds, respectively. In Nakawa, a total of 64%, 62% and 22% of the subjects had dmft > 0, decayed teeth (dt) > 0 and missing teeth > 0, respectively. The corresponding rates in central Kampala were 56%, 55% and 17%. Multivariate analyses revealed that attending school in Nakawa, having a mother with a lower level of education, reporting the intake of cough syrup, visiting a dentist and scoring positively for plaque were associated with higher odds (1.6, 1.5, 3.7 and 2.7) for having dmft > 0. The adjusted mean frequency sugar scores varied systematically between mothers with low and high levels of education (mean scores = 11.0 vs. 10.4), and for children with negative and positive plaque scores (mean scores = 10.6 vs. 10.9). Conclusion. The caries experience was highest among children attending nursery schools in Nakawa and those who had had longer periods of cough syrup consumption, whereas children from the two locations were equally exposed to sugar consumption generally. Both caries experience and frequency of sugar consumption was highest among children of less-well-educated mothers.
