Influence of Depression and Use of Alcohol and / or Tobacco by Parents in the Oral Health of Children with Disabilities

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the influence of parental depression and substance use in the oral health care of children with disabilities. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 151 children with disabilities and their parents/caregivers. To detect the presence of depression and alcohol or tobacco use, the parents/caregivers answered three questionnaires: two versions of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test), and the Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND). Then, the children with disabilities underwent oral examination to evaluate biofilm control, gingival condition and the dental carie index (decayed, missing, and filled teeth-dmft ̸ DMFT). Results: There was a statistically significant association between tobacco use and dental caries in deciduous teeth (p=0.046). The children of smokers had six times greater need for dental treatment than that of non-smokers (OR= 6.36; CI= 1.3-30.5). There was no statistically significant association between the oral health of the children with disabilities and parental alcohol consumption and depression (p>0.05). Children with medical condition had a higher need for dental treatment than children with intellectual disability (p=0.003). Conclusion: Parental smoking habits increase dental caries in the deciduous teeth of children with disabilities, but parental depression and alcohol use do not influence the oral health of children with disabilities. Children with medical condition have more treatment needs than children with intellectual disability.

Relationship Between Depression, Alcohol and /or Tobacco Abuse of Those Responsible and Children’s Oral Health

“…This may be because previous studies took place in the field, while our sample was comprised of regular patients of the pediatric dental clinic, who received specialized dental care according to their individual needs. Although this study found no statistical relationship, unlike the most recent studies, our results were equivalent to those found in a previous study conducted with special children 11 at the same institution. This suggests that the location of the research may influence the results.…”

“…This result is not compatible with the one found in this study, since we did not observe a significant association between the tobacco use by caregivers and caries disease in patients. In the study of Garate et al 11 , conducted at the same institution with special patients, a positive association was found between use of tobacco by legal guardians and caries in children's primary teeth. In the present study, the age range was greater than the one used Substance abuse by caregivers and children's oral health.…”

“…To assess the presence of depression symptoms, parents/caregivers completed the PHQ (Patient Health Questionnaire) in its two versions (PHQ-2 and PHQ-9) [9][10][11] in face-to-face interviews. First, the PHQ-2 was used as a screening test for all parents.…”

“…7 Research shows that mothers with depressive symptoms offer less effective emotional support and provide limited assistance with their child's education, regardless of age group. 7,8 Only a few known studies [9][10][11][12] examine the influence of parents' psychosocial problems on the oral health of their children. Thus, to increase understanding of this topic, the main purpose of the present study is to identify possible relationships between parents' or caregivers' depression, smoking, and alcohol use and the oral health of children.…”

Family Influences on the Dental Caries Status of Children with Special Health Care Needs: A Systematic Review

“…The majority of the studies were conducted in Asia, which include Taiwan, Hong Kong, China, Bangladesh, India, and Indonesia [ 22 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Three other studies were conducted in Brazil [ 32 , 33 , 34 ], and the remaining two were conducted in Saudi Arabia and South Africa [ 23 , 35 ]. The distribution of age across the studies approximated a normal distribution, and all conformed to a definition of “children” that ranged between 0–18 years old [ 36 ].…”