Poor parenting behaviours and dental caries experience in 6‐ To 7‐year‐old children

Abstract

Objectives The association between poor parenting and dental caries in children remains unclear. We investigated the association of poor parenting with dental caries and oral health behaviour among children aged 6‐7 years in Japan. Methods Two waves of repeated cross‐sectional surveys on children and their caregivers in Adachi City, Tokyo, were analysed. Questionnaires on parenting behaviour and the child's oral health behaviour were distributed through schools and completed by 8499 caregivers (response rate = 80.8%). The number of decayed or filled primary teeth (dft) at school dental health check‐ups was linked to the survey data (N for complete case analysis = 6309). Factor analysis was performed to identify types of poor parenting: poor involvement, child abuse and lack of supervision of a child's health behaviours. The association between factor scores (z‐score), the number of dft and oral health behaviour (not brushing teeth twice a day, not controlling snack eating habits and drinking juice every day) was evaluated by Poisson's regressions adjusted for covariates, including caregiver's socioeconomic status. Results Poor involvement and lack of supervision of a child's health behaviours were positively associated with dft (mean ratio, MR [95% confidence interval, CI] =1.05 [1.03, 1.07] and 1.18 [1.16, 1.21], respectively) and unhealthy oral health behaviours. Child abuse was not associated with dft (MR = 0.99 [0.96, 1.01]) but was associated with all three unhealthy oral health behaviours (prevalence ratio, PR [95% CI] were 1.11 [1.06, 1.16], 1.11 [1.06, 1.16] and 1.06 [1.00, 1.11] for not brushing teeth, not controlling snack eating and drinking juice, respectively). Conclusions Poor involvement and lack of supervision of a child's health behaviours were associated with dental caries, and any type of poor parenting was associated with poor oral health behaviour among children.

Early Childhood Caries Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors in Monastir, Tunisia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Additionally, parents play an important role in their children's oral hygiene practices. According to a cross-sectional survey performed in Japan, lack of parental supervision was considered as a risk factor for dental caries in 6-to 7-year-old children (32).…”

“…In these studies it was reported that maternal education significantly influences attitudes toward children's oral health and that mothers play an important role in the development of children's dental health behavior (22,36,37). Moreover, parental practice such as feeding style and general parenting style can be relevant (32). According to a study conducted in Ohio, USA, permissive parenting style was more associated with dental caries than authoritative parenting style (38).…”

The Relationships Among Oral Health Practices, Early Childhood Caries, and Oral Health-related Quality of Life in Indonesian Preschool Children

“…[ 4 ] Parents play a pivotal role in mitigating the risks of dental caries and promoting positive oral health behaviors in young children. [ 5 ] Parents’ oral health behaviors, including oral hygiene practices and cariogenic food consumption, are directly related to the oral health of their children. [ 6 ] This relationship needs to be considered, because ECC can negatively affect the permanent teeth, thereby leading to future dental problems.…”

There is still room for improvement in the completeness of abstract reporting according to the PRISMA-A checklist: a cross-sectional study on systematic reviews in periodontology

“…Among the 265 abstracts included in the assessment, 34 were not structured, and the prevalence was higher than that previously reported by other authors [ 13 , 18 ]. Structured abstracts have been strongly recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [ 24 ], and they are supposed to enhance the quality of the report [ 25 ].…”