Focus on Caregivers to Prevent Dental Caries in Young Children

Abstract

Dental caries is the m o s t c o m m o n chronic disease of childhood and an area of major health disparity. Dental caries is the most common chronic disease of childhood and an area of major health disparity. Approximately 14% of children in the U.S. aged 3 to 5 years have untreated caries, however, the rate increases to 25% in families below the poverty level according to a new study (Divaris et al., 2014). The new study looked at the role of caregivers on children's entry into the dental care system using prospectively collected interview data from 2007 to 2008 and Medicaid claims. The study identified 1000 children under the age of 5 who had not had a dental visit, 72% of whom were under the age of 2. Caregivers of these children were primarily single women; 31% had some college education. At a median 25 month follow-up, 39% of the children had entered the dental system with 13% encountering the dental system the first time for emergency dental care. Two-thirds had not entered the dental care system at all. The study found that caregivers' own dental neglect emerged as a significant predictor of non-entrance. Caregivers whose children had not received dental care had poor personal oral health, lower comprehension based health literacy, and higher dental neglect. The researchers concluded that caregivers have a pivotal role in children's oral health and care. They recommend that interventions aimed at improving children's oral health should involve community outreach to engage caregivers in a culturally appropriate manner when their children are infants or toddlers. This study confirms previous studies which found that the children most susceptible to dental caries (those with low incomes, bottle fed and high intake of sweetened drinks) were also the children most likely to have never seen a