Oral health and oral health-related behaviour in preschool children: evidence for a social gradient

Abstract

Abstract.This study aims to investigate the social gradient in the reported oral health-related behaviour and oral health status of preschool children. Participants were 1,057 children born between October 2003 and July 2004 in Flanders, Belgium. Oral health examinations were performed by trained dentists when the children were three and five years old (respectively in 2007 and 2009); data on dietary habits, oral hygiene habits and dental attendance of the children were obtained through structured questionnaires completed by the parents. Maternal educational level, measured in four categories, was used as a proxy of socio-economic status. Logistic and ordinal regressions showed a social gradient for the oral health-related behaviours: a lower educational level of the mother was related to a higher consumption of sugared drinks between meals and to a lower brushing frequency and dental attendance of the child. Children from low-educated mothers also had seven times more chance to present with caries experience than children from mothers with a bachelor degree. Contrary to the expectations, there was a deviation from the gradient in three-year-olds from the highest educational group showing an increased risk for caries experience (OR=3.84, 95% CI=1.08-13.65). Conclusion. Already in very young children, a graded relationship is observed between socio-economic position, oral health and related behaviours. The results suggest that different approaches are required to promote oral health during early childhood depending on the mother's educational background. As children from the highest social group also have an increased caries risk, specific techniques may be needed.2

Migration background is associated with caries in Viennese school children, even if parents have received a higher education

“…Most studies only took the educational level of mothers into account [18,20,23]. Interestingly, an increased risk of caries was associated not only with low educational levels of mothers but also even with their high acquisition of university degrees [36]. We found that even when parents have a higher scholarly education level, migration background has an association with DMFT values.…”

Importance of contextual variables related to cavitated lesions in 5‐year‐old children

“…Parents/caregivers with a low level of education and lower household income were associated with cavitated lesions in the children of this study. These individual socioeconomic determinants may reflect less access to information and less acquisitive power for the employment of healthy behaviors. Such differences indicate the influence of socioeconomic factors on oral hygiene habits and access to healthcare services.…”

Early Childhood Caries: A Literature Review

“…Bireyi etkilemek, toplumsal ve kültürel faktörler dâhilinde oral hijyen alışkanlıklarını şekillendirmek zor olabilmektedir. 72 Ancak, toplum temelli eğitim programları ve uygulamaları ile ağız sağlığı konusunda toplumsal bilinçlenme ve doğru tutum ve davranış oluşturmak, acil ağız ve diş sağ-lığı hizmetlerine ihtiyacın azalmasını sağlayarak sağlıklı nesiller yetişmesine yardımcı olacaktır. 73,74 Koruyucu ağız ve diş sağlığı önemi hakkında geliştirilmiş halk eğitiminin, doğum öncesi ebeveynlik eğitiminin devam eden bir parçası olması, küçük çocukların velileriyle iletişim kurulduğunda öncelikli olarak; şekerli içeceklerin tüketi-minin azaltılması, biberonla içilen sıvılara özellikle geceleri şeker ilave edilmemesi ve doğumdan itibaren başlanmak üzere bebeğin diş etlerinin yumuşak bir fırça veya temiz, nemli bir bez parçasıyla temizlenmesi hakkında bilgiler verilmesi, çocukların ömür boyu sağlıklı oral hijyen alışkanlıkları kazanmasına yardımcı olacaktır.…”