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Objective Cultural changes faced by immigrants and ethnic minorities after moving to a host country may have a detrimental or beneficial influence on their oral health and oral health-related behaviors. Therefore, this paper reviews the literature to see the impact of acculturation on immigrants and ethnic minorities’ oral health outcomes. Methods We searched seven electronic databases up to January 2018. All cross-sectional and longitudinal quantitative studies that examined associations between acculturation and oral health status and/or oral health behaviors among ethnic minority and immigrant population[s] were included. Study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment were completed in duplicate. The Newcastle-Ottawa checklist was used to appraise the methodological quality of the quantitative studies. A meta-analytic approach was not feasible. Results A total of 42 quantitative studies were identified. The studies showed a positive association between acculturation and oral health status/behaviors. The most frequently used acculturation indicators were language spoken by immigrant and ethnic minorities and length of stay at the host country. High-acculturated immigrant and ethnic minority groups demonstrated better oral health outcomes, oral health behaviors, dental care utilization, and dental knowledge. Conclusions According to existing evidence, a positive effect of acculturation on oral health status and behaviors was found. Practical implications Dental practitioners should be culturally competent to provide the appropriate services and treatments to immigrant and ethnic minorities. Policymakers should also be sensitive to cultural diversities and properly address the unique needs of each group in order to maintain oral health equity.

ObjectivesThe aim of this review was to critically analyze the empirical evidence on the association between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and oral health behaviors through a systematic approach.MethodsA systematic search up to April 2015 was carried out using the following electronic bibliographic databases: PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE; ISI Web of Science; and Ovid PsychInfo. Studies were included if they evaluated the relationship between SOC and oral health behaviors including tooth cleaning, fluoride usage, dietary habits, dental attendance, and smoking. We excluded studies that only assessed the relationship between oral health status and SOC without evaluating oral health behaviors. The New Castle Ottawa (NOS) quality assessment checklist was employed to evaluate the methodological quality of included studies.ResultsThirty-nine potential papers met the preliminary selection criteria and following a full-text review, 9 papers were finally selected for this systematic review. Results provided by the included studies indicated different levels of association between SOC and oral health behaviors. The most frequent behaviors investigated were tooth brushing and dental attendance pattern. The impact of SOC on performing positive oral health behaviors, to some extent, was related to demographic and socio-economic factors. In addition, mothers’ SOC influenced children’s oral health practices.ConclusionsA more favorable oral health behavior was observed among those with a stronger SOC suggesting that the SOC can be a determinant of oral health-related behaviors including tooth brushing frequency, daily smoking, and dental attendance.

The purpose of this article was to conduct a systematic review of studies that used the life course approach to evaluate the association between factors experienced in early life and throughout the lifetime and the development of dental caries in children and adolescents. A systematic search of five electronic databases was carried out. Hand searches of the reference lists of the included articles and a gray literature search were also performed. Quantitative studies that adopted the life course approach to examine the factors associated with the development of dental caries in children and adolescents were selected. Abstracts were screened by two reviewers. Reports with relevant abstracts received full-text review and were examined for inclusion in the present systematic review. Qualitative evaluation of the included articles was carried out using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. As a result of the high degree of heterogeneity, meta-analysis was not feasible. Among the 48 articles submitted to full-text analysis, 11 were included in the present systematic review. Different life course factors were associated with the development of dental caries among children and adolescents, including sociodemographic, biological, psychological, and oral health behaviors, as well as the dental status of mothers, children, and adolescents.

Filipino parents were open to the Western model of preventive oral healthcare, with the duration of their time in Canada playing a key role in promoting regular dental visits for their children.