Abstract
BackgroundEarly childhood caries is the most common chronic childhood disease worldwide. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice more likely to develop dental decay, and contributing factors include poor maternal oral health and underutilisation of dental services. Globally, Indigenous health workers are in a unique position to deliver culturally competent oral healthcare because they have a contextual understanding of the needs of the community.MethodsThis scoping review aimed to identify the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health globally. A systematic search was undertaken of six electronic databases for relevant published literature and grey literature, and expanded to include non-dental health professionals and other Indigenous populations across the lifespan when limited studies were identified.ResultsTwenty-two papers met the inclusion criteria, focussing on the role of Indigenous health workers in maternal oral healthcare, types of oral health training programs and screening tools to evaluate program effectiveness. There was a paucity of peer-reviewed evidence on the role of Indigenous health workers in promoting maternal oral health, with most studies focusing on other non-dental health professionals. Nevertheless, there were reports of Indigenous health workers supporting oral health in early childhood. Although some oral health screening tools and training programs were identified for non-dental health professionals during the antenatal period, no specific screening tool has been developed for use by Indigenous health workers.ConclusionsWhile the role of health workers from Indigenous communities in promoting maternal oral health is yet to be clearly defined, they have the potential to play a crucial role in ‘driving’ screening and education of maternal oral health especially when there is adequate organisational support, warranting further research.
Highlights
Childhood caries is the most common chronic childhood disease worldwide
Aim This review aimed to identify the potential role of Indigenous health worker (IHW) in promoting oral health during the antenatal period
Study design To source the available evidence regarding the role of IHWs in promoting oral health within Indigenous communities, training programs available to perform their role and functions, and the available oral health screening tools, we undertook a scoping review, using the framework described by Arksey and O’Malley [36]
Summary
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice more likely to develop dental decay, and contributing factors include poor maternal oral health and underutilisation of dental services. While the factors which contribute to these inequities vary across continents, the inherent issues are remarkably similar. In Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have poorer outcomes in maternal and infant health. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are twice as likely to develop early childhood caries (ECC) in their deciduous teeth and caries in their permanent dentition, compared to other children [7]. Some evidence supports that maternal oral health may be associated with these health outcomes [9, 10]
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