Jeffrey N Lee1, JoAnna M Scott2, Donald L Chi1,3. 1. Department of Oral Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. 2. Department of Research & Graduate Programs, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA. 3. Department of Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Dental caries is a significant public health problem for low-income children with special health care needs (CSHCN). AIM: We evaluated associations between oral health behaviors (e.g., diet, fluoride, dental care) and caries for CSHCN enrolled in Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income populations that provides comprehensive dental coverage for children. DESIGN: We recruited 116 CSHCN ages 7 to 20 years from Medicaid enrollment files in Washington state, USA. Caregivers completed a 166-item questionnaire and children received a dental screening. The outcome was dental caries, defined as total pre-cavitated, decayed, missing, or filled tooth (PDMF) surfaces. We ran log-linear regression models and generated prevalence rate ratios (PRR). RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 12.4±3.1 years, 41.4% were female, and 38.8% were white. The mean PDMF surfaces was 6.4±9.4 (range: 0 to 49). Only sugar-sweetened beverage intake was significantly associated with dental caries. CSHCN who consumed >4 sugar-sweetened beverages per week were significantly more likely to have tooth decay than those who consumed no sugar-sweetened beverages (PRR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.37, 4.85; P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Sugar-sweetened beverages are an important target for future behavioral interventions aimed at preventing dental caries in low-income CSHCN. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
BACKGROUND: Dental caries is a significant public health problem for low-income children with special health care needs (CSHCN). AIM: We evaluated associations between oral health behaviors (e.g., diet, fluoride, dental care) and caries for CSHCN enrolled in Medicaid, a health insurance program for low-income populations that provides comprehensive dental coverage for children. DESIGN: We recruited 116 CSHCN ages 7 to 20 years from Medicaid enrollment files in Washington state, USA. Caregivers completed a 166-item questionnaire and children received a dental screening. The outcome was dental caries, defined as total pre-cavitated, decayed, missing, or filled tooth (PDMF) surfaces. We ran log-linear regression models and generated prevalence rate ratios (PRR). RESULTS: The mean age of study participants was 12.4±3.1 years, 41.4% were female, and 38.8% were white. The mean PDMF surfaces was 6.4±9.4 (range: 0 to 49). Only sugar-sweetened beverage intake was significantly associated with dental caries. CSHCN who consumed >4 sugar-sweetened beverages per week were significantly more likely to have tooth decay than those who consumed no sugar-sweetened beverages (PRR: 2.58; 95% CI: 1.37, 4.85; P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Sugar-sweetened beverages are an important target for future behavioral interventions aimed at preventing dental caries in low-income CSHCN. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Entities:
Keywords:
caries; community paediatric dentistry; medically compromised/disability; prevention
Authors: Peivand Bastani; Mohammadtaghi Mohammadpour; Arash Ghanbarzadegan; Giampiero Rossi-Fedele; Marco A Peres Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2021-12-04 Impact factor: 2.655