Dental caries and associated factors in mothers and their preschool and school children—A cross-sectional study

Mother’s Characteristics and Socioeconomic Status as Possible Risk Factors for Children’s Caries in Jordan

Background. Clinical oral health status of children affects their health-related quality of life. A major determinant of oral health is early childhood caries, which possesses a negative effect. Objective. The primary objective of the study was to examine the association between socioeconomic status and different mother’s characteristics and the risk of dental caries in children using the decay missing filled (DMF) score as an indicator. Methods. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study that was in the pediatric dental clinic in Hashem Ibn Al-Hussein medical military hospital in Jordan. Pearson correlation was used to examine associations between two continuous variables. Linear regression was used to detect variables that might predict the decayed missing filled teeth (dmft) score of the child. Results. A total of 264 children were enrolled in the study. Average age of children was 4.80 ± 1.99 years, and average mothers’ age was 32.74 ± 5.68. Mothers had an average DMFT score of 8.84 ± 5.39, while children had an average dmft score of 6.17 ± 4.82. There was no association between the mother’s age and the dmft score of the child (Pearson correlation = 0.08, and $P$ value = 0.215). However, a moderate, statistically significant correlation was found between the mother’s and the child’s DMFT scores (Pearson correlation = 0.418, and $P$ value = 0.001). Children who belonged to low and middle-income families had a higher dmft score compared to those that belonged to families with high income. Conclusion. Socioeconomic status of the family, mother’s habits, dental hygiene, and education level are important factors that influence the child’s oral health. Strategies that focus on children with these characteristics can help them achieve better oral health.

Age and reasons for first dental visit among children in Lagos, Nigeria

BACKGROUND

An early first dental clinic appointment offers the prospect of prompt preventative care and parental education regarding the oral health of the child. The evidence-based recommendation by dental professionals all over the world is that a child should visit a dentist before or by 1 year of age.

AIM

This study aimed to determine the chronological age at and the purpose for a first dental clinic visit amongst children aged 16 years and below attending the Paediatric Dental Clinic at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This was a retrospective study conducted amongst children who attended the Paediatric Dental Clinic at the LUTH between January 2017 and December 2018. Data on age at first dental visit, reasons for attending and other information relevant to the study were collected. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square analysis were conducted, and the level of significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

A total of 1157 children were studied, comprising 580 (50.5%) males and 577 (49.9%) females. Their mean age on their first dental visit was 7.9 ± 3.7 years. Most of the children (31.4%) had their first dental visits at 7 and 9 years, and 0.8% of the children had their first dental visit below the age of 1 year. The most common reason for visiting the dental clinic was dental pain (33.1%). A higher proportion of the children (911 [79.0%]) had their first dental visit for therapeutic purposes, whereas 246 (21.0%) children visited the dental clinic for preventive care. Sex and age at first dental visit were statistically significantly associated with the reason for attendance (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Most children had their first dental visit between the ages of 7 and 9 years, mainly because of pain. It is necessary to create more awareness among parents/caregivers and to establish the concept of dental home.

Caries Experience and Oral Health-related Factors of Kuwaiti Preschool Children and their Mothers: A Pilot Study

Aim

The objective of this study was to investigate the association between the caries experience and oral-health-related behavior of Kuwaiti preschool children and their mothers.

Materials and methods

A convenience sample of 84 participants (42 child-mother pairs) was selected. Data regarding children's and mothers' demographics, oral hygiene practices, and dietary habits were obtained by questionnaires. Oral clinical examinations were carried out on the participant children and mothers to determine their caries experience (decayed, missing, and filled teeth index-dmft/DMFT).

Results

An estimated 19% of children were caries-free and 66% of mothers have untreated caries. The mean dmft index of the preschool children was 3.90 ± 2.9, and the mean DMFT index of their mothers was 12.38 ± 5.4. Mothers' untreated caries was significantly associated with their children's untreated caries (r = 0.183, p < 0.05). No correlation was found between the brushing frequencies of children and their mothers (p = 0.582). High consumption of sugary snacks and sugary beverages was detected among the children and mothers with a significant association (p < 0.05). The mean dmft of the children was found to be significantly lower among the young mothers, less than 30 years, (2.4 ± 2.1) compared to that among the mothers older than 30 years (4.3 ± 2.9, p < 0.05).

Conclusion

There was a high prevalence of early childhood caries in the preschool children studied. A positive correlation was found between the dental caries experience and sugar consumption of the Kuwaiti preschool children and those of their mothers.

Clinical significance

The oral health status and dietary habits of mothers are potentially significant risk factors for the development of early childhood caries in their children. Pediatric dentists need to identify the main caries risk factors in their community in order to implement appropriate preventive dental care and educational programs.

How to cite this article

Husain FAAM, Alanzi AN. Caries Experience and Oral Health-related Factors of Kuwaiti Preschool Children and their Mothers: A Pilot Study. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2019;12(4):283-287.

Children's ages and reasons for receiving their first dental visit in a Saudi community

OBJECTIVE

Epidemiological studies conducted in different parts of the world have revealed the postponement of first dental visits and an increased prevalence of early childhood caries in general populations in developed and developing countries. This study aimed to assess the average age of and most common reasons for first dental visits in children attending governmental and private dental clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Data were collected retrospectively from the dental records of new pediatric patients attending a governmental institute (College of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, King Saud University) and a private clinic (the investigator's private practice) in Riyadh. Only children attending their first dental visits with no previous dental experience were included in the study. Descriptive statistics, cross-tabulation analysis, and chi-squared test were done. The significance level was set at P ⩽ 0.05.

RESULTS

Initial dental visitation occurred at 1-3 years in 32.2% of children, 3-5 years in 52.9% of children, at >5 years in 14% of children. Pain was the dominant reason (71.5%) for first dental visits. Dental check-up was the main reason for 27.3% of dental visits, and fluoride application was the main reason for 20.5% of visits. Emergency cases accounted for 44.7% of first dental visits during the study period. Most (68%) children were medically fit, and 67.2% behaved positively during their first dental procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental compliance with the standard age for initial dental visitation recommended by the major dental academies is lacking.

Caries-risk profile variations after short-term use of 5000 ppm fluoride toothpaste

OBJECTIVE

To assess the caries risk following 6 weeks' use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste using 'Cariogram' software.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 34 participants, 17 mothers and their teenage children, were enrolled in a 6-week clinical trial in which they were given 5000 ppm F toothpaste. They were followed consecutively for 6 weeks with visits that were 2 weeks apart (four in total). A clinical examination was done at baseline and salivary chair-side tests to record the buffer capacity and mutans streptococci (MS) and lactobacilli (LB) counts were performed at each visit. Based on these data, seven caries-related variables were collected and inserted into the Cariogram software to calculate the actual chance of avoiding caries.

RESULTS

The use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste resulted in a statistically significant modification of the caries-risk profile, increasing the actual chance of avoiding caries in the future among the mothers and teenagers at each visit following baseline (p < 0.01). The changes essentially related to the salivary parameters (buffer capacity, MS and LB counts). A statistically significant linear trend was observed for MS counts (p < 0.01) and the number of subjects with a salivary concentration of MS < 10(3) increased at each visit. The same trend was also observed for LB and buffer capacity scores (p = 0.04 and p = 0.03, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The short-term use of 5000 ppm F toothpaste is able to reduce the caries risk, which can be clearly demonstrated using 'Cariogram' software.