Forty per cent of the children (589/1487) presented dental caries [mean deft (SD): 1.53 (2.75)]. Deft increased with age (P < 0.001) and was significantly higher in children from mothers with low educational level (P = 0.001) and low family income (P = 0.001). The greatest increase in caries prevalence and severity occurred between age groups of 1 and 2 years. Logistic regression demonstrated higher odds of dental caries with mother's completing < 4 years education, after adjusting for confounding.