Effects of early preventive dental visits and its associations with dental caries experience: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objectives Limited information is known about preventive dental visits (PDVs) before seven years of age among children in China. This study aimed to examine the early PDV rate, identify the impact of PDV on dental caries and untreated dental caries, and explore the factors related to PDV among Chinese sampled children under seven years old. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in five selected primary health care facilities in Chengdu, China, from May to August 2021. Parent–child dyads during regular systematic medical management were recruited to participate. Children's dental caries were identified through dental examinations and documented as decayed, missing and filled teeth index (dmft) by trained primary care physicians. Dental-related information was collected through a questionnaire. Zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) regression was used to test the effect of early PDV on the dmft value, and logistic regression was used to analyse impact factors on the early PDV. Results A total of 2028 out of 2377 parent–child dyads were qualified for analysis. Half of the children (50.4%) were male, with a mean age of 4.8 years. Among all the children, 12.1% had their first dental visit for preventive purposes, 34.4% had their first dental visit for symptomatic purposes, and more than half had never visited a dentist. The results showed that a lower dmft value (adjusted OR: 0.69, 95% CI: 0.48–0.84), a higher rate of caries-free (aOR: 6.5, 95% CI: 3.93–10.58), and a lower rate of untreated dental caries (aOR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.21–0.76) were associated with early PDV utilization. Children who had a higher rate of PDV were positively associated with living in a family with better parental behaviours (aOR: 2.30, 95% CI: 1.71–3.08), better parental oral health perception (aOR: 1.23, 95% CI: 1.06–1.32), fathers who had no untreated caries (aOR: 0.68, 95% CI: 0.47–0.97), families with higher socioeconomic status (aOR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.04–1.16), and dental health advice received from well-child care physicians (aOR: 1.47, 95% CI: 1.08–2.00). Conclusions Early PDV was associated with a lower rate of dental caries prevalence and untreated dental caries among sampled children younger than seven in Western China. Underutilization and social inequities existed in PDV utilization. Public health strategies should be developed to increase preventive dental visits and eliminate social disparities that prevent dental care utilization.

Influence of Tooth Brushing and Previous Dental Visits on Dental Caries Status among Saudi Arabian Children

“…This could be because the children who needed treatment or complained went to the dentist. This concept was supported and postulated by a few researchers [ 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Visiting the dentist not only has a therapeutic component, but the educational intervention performed by health professionals within their practice also helps promote oral health in the population [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”

Oral Hygiene in Adolescence: A Questionnaire-Based Study

“…Literature indicates that age at first dental visit widely ranges between 1 and 6 years worldwide. A recent questionnaire-based study conducted by Qu et al (2022) [ 14 ] reported a mean age of 4.8 and 5.4 years old for preventive and symptomatic first dental visits, respectively. Furthermore, the study indicated that early preventive dental visits were associated with a lower rate of dental caries.…”

“…Previous studies were found to assess oral hygiene focusing on adolescents: knowledge about this topic and oral hygiene routines varied throughout the literature. Many factors were proposed to explain the observed differences, such as socioeconomic status, gender element and geographical area of origin [ 12 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”

Socio-Economic Determinants of Children`s Dental Health. Literature Review

“…Навіть на сьогодні картина щодо стоматологічної захворюваності у дітей в сільській місцевості є неповною. Стосовно економічно нерозвинених регіонів країни (південнозахідні райони Китаю), то отримані дані про вищі рівні поширення раннього карієсу у дітей у них, що пов'язують із демографічними проблемами, низьким рівнем заможності родини, особливостей вигодовування та харчування, рівнем розвитку навичок по догляду за порожниною рота, рівнем знань батьків про дотримання стоматологічного здоров'я та з умовами надання стоматологічної медичної допомоги [42,43].…”

“…І таку ситуацію дослідники теж схильні пояснювати наявним диспаритетом економічного розвитку регіонів, різною густиною населення та відповідно різним доступом до стоматологічної медичної допомоги та до профілактичних програм у сфері збереження здоров'я. Тому застосування лише усталених освітніх та комунальних заходів профілактики стоматологічних захворювань є недостатнім для подолання проблеми раннього й дитячого карієсу в Китаї [1,43].…”