The aim was to elucidate whether variables recorded in early childhood would have a long-lasting predictive value of poor dental health at the age of 10 years in a prospectively followed Finnish population-based cohort setting. The second aim was to find new tools for preventive work in order to improve dental health among children. Poor dental health (dmft + DMFT ≧ 5) at 10 years of age was associated with child’s nocturnal juice drinking at 18 months. It was associated with the following factors at age 3 years: frequent consumption of sweets; infrequent tooth brushing; plaque and caries on teeth. Of family factors, the following were significant: father’s young age at birth of the child; mother’s basic 9-year education; mother’s caries (i.e. several carious teeth per year), and father’s infrequent tooth brushing. Early childhood risk factors of poor dental health seem to be stable even after 10 years of life and the changing of teeth from primary to permanent ones. In preventive work, dental health care staff could offer support to those parents with risk factors in their child rearing tasks.
The aim of the study was to examine the caries experience of 10–year–olds as measured with dmft/DMFT, to explain how caries increases by the age of 10 years, and which factors would explain caries increments. The setting was a representative population sample of first–born children in southwestern Finland. Dental health at 10 years of age was found to be good in 45%, fairly good in 40% and poor in 15% of the children. The caries index remained stable in 23% of carious children from 7 to 10 years of age. Daily consumption of sweets at the age of 3 years (OR 2.7; 95% CI 1.5–4.8; p < 0.001) was associated with a caries increment between 7 and 10 years of age (both deciduous and permanent teeth). This daily consumption of sweets and a child’s late bedtime (OR 1.9; 95% CI 1.1––3.1; p = 0.023) were explanatory factors in the permanent teeth alone. In the deciduous teeth, mother’s previous caries and child’s earlier tooth brushing habits were explanatory factors of caries. As hypothesized, all five significant factors remaining in the final logistic regression analysis were family–related. Parental ability to care for and educate a child could be seen in dental health still at the age of 10 years. The family–related factors which were associated with caries should be emphasized much more comprehensively in everyday dental health care practice.
The present study analyzed the prevalence of dental caries as well as associations of dental health and family competence among 7-year-old children and their families. Dental caries status was the outcome variable of the 7-year prospective follow-up study. Pre-tested questionnaires were used to gather data individually from the parents at six points in time (at the public maternity health-care clinic during the mother's pregnancy and at childbirth, at the well-baby clinic at 18 months, and at ages 3, 5, and 7 years). Clinical examinations at dental health-care clinics were used to record dental status indicators of the child at ages 3, 5, and 7 years. A child had caries more often when the mother did not regard it as important to teach a healthy lifestyle right from birth; when the mother undervalued consistent action in child-rearing; when the father preferred merely to explain the causes and consequences during child-rearing (giving no examples); when the father had several new carious teeth per year; when the child consumed sweets several times a week; or when the child's toothbrushing was infrequent. The child's daily dental health behaviors and a strong influence of family competence emerged in the final logistic regression analysis. Dental and well-baby clinic staff members need to discuss consistency in child-rearing with the parents and there is a need for modeling adult dental health behaviors at the time of the mother's pregnancy if the child's future preventive dental health is to function properly.
Health behaviour in fathers of young families expecting their first baby was studied using randomized cluster sampling and confidential questionnaires given to 1414 fathers, of whom 1,279 responded to the questionnaire. The drop-out rate was 9.5%. Participants and drop-outs had matching occupations. Basic educational level, age, occupation and location of home were used as background variables. Health behaviour was studied by means of many questions on habits associated with health, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, physical exercise, dietary habits, and social relations and use of cultural services connected with health. The results showed that the health behaviour of the fathers was related to their childhood family background, level of education and occupation. Health education literature and counselling best reached fathers with a high level of education and those with professional occupations. The most negative health behaviour patterns were seen in fathers working in manufacturing industry or primary production and in the youngest fathers. Maternity health care clinics and Well-baby clinics establish a longstanding relation with young families, and health care staffs have a good opportunity to support the future fathers' health behaviour in a positive direction.
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