The relationship between neighborhood empowerment and dental caries experience: a multilevel study in adolescents and adults

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Objective: To investigate the relationship of contextual social capital (neighborhood empowerment) and individual social capital (social support and social network) with dental caries experience in adolescents and adults. Methods: A population-based multilevel study was conducted involving 573 subjects, 15-19 and 35-44 years of age, from 30 census tracts in three cities of Paraíba, Brazil. A two-stage cluster sampling was used considering census tracts and households as sampling units. Caries experience was assessed using the DMFT index (decayed, missing and filled teeth) and participants were divided into two groups according to the median of the DMFT index in low and high caries experience. Demographic, socioeconomic, behaviors, use of dental services and social capital measures were collected through interviews. Neighborhood empowerment was obtained from the mean scores of the residents in each census tract. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression was used to test the relationship between neighborhood empowerment and caries experience. Results: High caries experience was inversely associated with neighborhood empowerment (OR = 0.58; 95%CI 0.33 -0.99). Individual social capital was not associated with caries experience. Other associated factors with caries experience were age (OR = 1.15; 95%CI 1.12 -1.18) and being a female (OR = 1.72; 95%CI 1.08 -2.73). Conclusion: The association between neighborhood empowerment and caries experience suggests that the perception of features of the place of residence should be taken into account in actions of oral health promotion.

The Role of School Social Environment on Dental Caries Experience in 8- to 12-Year-Old Brazilian Children: A Multilevel Analysis

“…Authors examining the relationship between social context and dental caries occurrence found that the community context affects caries prevalence [Aida et al, 2008] and showed a beneficial associa- tion between community empowerment [Patussi et al, 2006a, b;Santiago et al, 2014] and social cohesion [Aida et al, 2008], both indicators of SC, and dental caries. Guedes et al [2014], using a multilevel analysis, observed that living in areas with a low social network and unfavourable social conditions had a great impact on a child's quality of life.…”

The Association between Participation of Adolescents in Community Groups and Dental Caries in a Deprived Area in Brazil

“…Low levels of perceived social support and low numbers of social networks were independently associated with dental caries in adolescents [Bernabé et al, 2011;Fontanini et al, 2015]. In addition, low neighbourhood empowerment was an important variable related to caries experience [Santiago et al, 2014]. On the other hand, two studies involving similar age groups were unable to support the association between social relationships and oral health.…”

Neighbourhoods and oral health: Agent-based modelling of tooth decay

“…The presence of community centres has shown significant associations with decay scores (Aida et al, 2008), with improvements in oral health also linked with institutions such as churches (Tellez et al, 2006). Neighbourhood level empowerment has also shown negative associations with decay experience (Santiago et al, 2014), although not all studies have found links between oral health and social capital (Mathur et al, 2016). The location of dental surgeries may also influence oral health due to some areas being underserved (Lang et al, 2008).…”