Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic status, home environment, and self-perception of health conditions on schoolchildren's dental caries experience. A total of 515 twelve-year-old schoolchildren from Juiz de Fora, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil, were selected into a random multistage sample. The schoolchildren were examined for the presence of caries lesions using the decayed/missing/filled teeth (DMFT) index and categorized as caries-free (DMFT = 0) or with caries experience (DMFT > 0). The participants and their parents were asked to answer a questionnaire about socioeconomic status, home environment, and self-perception of their health conditions. The hierarchical multiple regression model was used to assess the associations, since a binary response variable was assumed. The bivariate analysis revealed that variables at four levels, such as type of school, monthly family income, parents' education, home ownership, number of people living in the household, household overcrowding, parents' perception of their children's oral health, and schoolchildren's self-perception of their oral health (p < 0.05), were significantly associated with children's worse dental caries conditions. The regression model results showed that type of school and monthly family income had a strong negative effect on schoolchildren's dental caries experience (p < 0.05) in the final statistical model, where all levels were included. It was observed that socioeconomic factors were considered a strong risk indicator of schoolchildren's caries experience among the investigated social determinants of oral health.
Highlights
Oral health is considered an integral element of overall health and may impact the functional and psychosocial aspects of individuals.[1]
At the third level, the number of people living in the household and household overcrowding variables were associated with dental caries experience (p < 0.05)
In Brazil, dental caries is still considered a public health problem, in some polarized groups living in worse socioeconomic conditions.[2,3,4,19,20]
Summary
Oral health is considered an integral element of overall health and may impact the functional and psychosocial aspects of individuals.[1]. Studies evaluating the impact of social determinants of health have fundamental importance in helping public health planners to reduce inequalities in the population’s oral health.[7,8]. According to the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion “health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they. It is known that family plays a fundamental role in various aspects of children’s development (biological, cultural, social) and is considered an important agent of their socialization. Parents are the most significant health role models, with impact on the oral health values and behavioral routines of their children. The family setting is a valuable context for the creation and support of children’s oral health.[5, 11]
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