Are maternal factors predictors of a child’s first dental visit? A birth cohort study in Brazil

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between maternal factors and dental visits of children within their first year of life. This study used data from the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort and included pregnant women and their children at 12 months of age, followed-up between May 2014 and December 2015. Socioeconomic and demographic data, information on the use of dental services during the last year, and information on dental fear were collected by interviewing the mothers. Information regarding dental caries and periodontal disease were collected during the mother's clinical examination. The date of each child's first visit to the dentist was recorded. Crude and adjusted Poisson regression models with robust variance were used. The sample comprised 2,287 mother-child dyads, of which 10.1% of children visited the dentist during the first year of life. Children whose mothers visited the dentist within the last year for preventive reasons (RR: 1.51; 95%CI: 1.12-2.03) or curative reasons (RR: 1.47; 95%CI: 1.08-2.01) were more likely to have visited the dentist during the first year of life compared to those whose mothers had not used dental services during this period. Maternal tooth loss was inversely associated with a child's visit to the dentist during the first year of life (RR: 0.69; 95%CI: 0.54-0.89). Considering the mother's history of using dental services, as well as their dental caries history, is necessary to understand and improve patterns of dental health care utilization and implement public oral health policies for young children.

Characteristics and influencing factors of the first dental visit among children in Bangkok, Thailand: a cross-sectional study

“…In keeping with the mean ages at FDV, the percentage of children who had FDV not later than 12 months of age was not much different when compared to Nigeria (0.8%) [ 9 ] and Turkey (2.9%) [ 13 ] and Bulgaria(1.73%) [ 15 ]. Nonetheless, these numbers were far less than the study performed in Brazil (10.1%) which focused only on the infants’ group in urban areas with a ten times larger number of samples [ 16 ]. Furthermore, the oral health status at FDV in our study was comparable to the earlier study in a developed country with good public dental services like Poland: 5.02 ± 4.14 vs. 4.50 ± 3.80 and 1.38 ± 2.12 vs. 0.50 ± 1.00 in primary and permanent dentition, respectively [ 17 ].…”

Clinical, behavioral and psychosocial factors and dental visits by preschool children

“…Noteworthy, Brazil has the largest public health system in the world, which provides preventive and curative care to the entire population, including children, and the system includes strategies for the care of pregnant woman (Smiling Brazil, launched in 2004). The lack of health literacy in relation to the importance of dental visits during the rst years may be a reason for such a low prevalence of dental service use by children [25].…”

The influence of oral health behavior and caries status of mothers on their children caries status

“…30 In addition, Children whose mothers visited the dentist one year before the birth were more likely to have visited the dentist during the first year of life. 31 Shin et al found that the oral health status of children of mothers who had one caries or more were worse than those of mothers who had no caries. 55 It was found that mothers transfer the cariogenic bacteria to their children.…”

“…26,[28][29][30] focusing on the social determinants of the parents, 28 their behaviors and practices, 26 and their dental caries status. 31 In Harris et al review, parental oral health behavior was suggested as an important role in determining the oral health of their children. 32 This is why oral health education targeting mothers may positively impact oral the health status of children.…”