Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel

Abstract Introduction Disparities in oral health are related to dental care knowledge, domestic oral hygiene practices and socioeconomic status. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the oral hygiene and dental care practices of migrant, Arab, and Jewish children residing in Tel Aviv, Israel,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Jonathan Brill, Adi Vinograd, Barak Hermesh, Rivka Sheffer, Zohar Mor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-01-01
Series:International Journal for Equity in Health
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02383-9
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832585910651191296
author Jonathan Brill
Adi Vinograd
Barak Hermesh
Rivka Sheffer
Zohar Mor
author_facet Jonathan Brill
Adi Vinograd
Barak Hermesh
Rivka Sheffer
Zohar Mor
author_sort Jonathan Brill
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Introduction Disparities in oral health are related to dental care knowledge, domestic oral hygiene practices and socioeconomic status. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the oral hygiene and dental care practices of migrant, Arab, and Jewish children residing in Tel Aviv, Israel, and assess the influence of parental dental practices. Methods Data were collected from parents of children aged 3 to 6 years. Parents completed their own and their children’s oral health status, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and dental care knowledge. Results Of the 504 children, 153 (30.4%) were migrants, 117 (23.2%) were Arabs, and 234 (46.4%) were Jews. Twice-daily tooth brushing was reported by 57.5% of migrant children, 47% of Arab children, and 63.7% of Jewish children (p = 0.001). Compared with Arab and Jewish children, migrant children had higher rates of tooth filling and urgent dental interventions under general anesthesia (22.9%, 11.1%, and 9%, respectively; p < 0.001). The parent‒child association for twice-daily tooth brushing was strong overall (69.8%), particularly among migrants (70.9%) and Jews (72.3%), but weaker among Arabs (63.0%), p < 0.01. Conclusion Migrant children exhibited better tooth brushing habits than Arab children did but required more urgent dental interventions, highlighting gaps in preventive care. The strong parent‒child link in oral hygiene, particularly among migrants and Jews, suggests that culturally sensitive, family-focused interventions could help reduce these disparities and improve dental health outcomes for underserved populations.
format Article
id doaj-art-53333bf169c6472a96481f58687afef5
institution Kabale University
issn 1475-9276
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series International Journal for Equity in Health
spelling doaj-art-53333bf169c6472a96481f58687afef52025-01-26T12:20:55ZengBMCInternational Journal for Equity in Health1475-92762025-01-012411810.1186/s12939-025-02383-9Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, IsraelJonathan Brill0Adi Vinograd1Barak Hermesh2Rivka Sheffer3Zohar Mor4Department of Family Medicine, Meuhedet Health ServicesIsrael Center for Disease Control, Ministry of HealthDepartment of Family Medicine, Meuhedet Health ServicesTel Aviv Department of Health, Ministry of HealthTel Aviv Department of Health, Ministry of HealthAbstract Introduction Disparities in oral health are related to dental care knowledge, domestic oral hygiene practices and socioeconomic status. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the oral hygiene and dental care practices of migrant, Arab, and Jewish children residing in Tel Aviv, Israel, and assess the influence of parental dental practices. Methods Data were collected from parents of children aged 3 to 6 years. Parents completed their own and their children’s oral health status, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and dental care knowledge. Results Of the 504 children, 153 (30.4%) were migrants, 117 (23.2%) were Arabs, and 234 (46.4%) were Jews. Twice-daily tooth brushing was reported by 57.5% of migrant children, 47% of Arab children, and 63.7% of Jewish children (p = 0.001). Compared with Arab and Jewish children, migrant children had higher rates of tooth filling and urgent dental interventions under general anesthesia (22.9%, 11.1%, and 9%, respectively; p < 0.001). The parent‒child association for twice-daily tooth brushing was strong overall (69.8%), particularly among migrants (70.9%) and Jews (72.3%), but weaker among Arabs (63.0%), p < 0.01. Conclusion Migrant children exhibited better tooth brushing habits than Arab children did but required more urgent dental interventions, highlighting gaps in preventive care. The strong parent‒child link in oral hygiene, particularly among migrants and Jews, suggests that culturally sensitive, family-focused interventions could help reduce these disparities and improve dental health outcomes for underserved populations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02383-9Dental careToothbrushingTransients and migrantsParent‒child relationsSocial class
spellingShingle Jonathan Brill
Adi Vinograd
Barak Hermesh
Rivka Sheffer
Zohar Mor
Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
International Journal for Equity in Health
Dental care
Toothbrushing
Transients and migrants
Parent‒child relations
Social class
title Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
title_full Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
title_fullStr Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
title_full_unstemmed Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
title_short Oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants, Arabs, and Jews in South Tel Aviv, Israel
title_sort oral health disparities in early childhood and intergenerational gaps among noncitizen migrants arabs and jews in south tel aviv israel
topic Dental care
Toothbrushing
Transients and migrants
Parent‒child relations
Social class
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-025-02383-9
work_keys_str_mv AT jonathanbrill oralhealthdisparitiesinearlychildhoodandintergenerationalgapsamongnoncitizenmigrantsarabsandjewsinsouthtelavivisrael
AT adivinograd oralhealthdisparitiesinearlychildhoodandintergenerationalgapsamongnoncitizenmigrantsarabsandjewsinsouthtelavivisrael
AT barakhermesh oralhealthdisparitiesinearlychildhoodandintergenerationalgapsamongnoncitizenmigrantsarabsandjewsinsouthtelavivisrael
AT rivkasheffer oralhealthdisparitiesinearlychildhoodandintergenerationalgapsamongnoncitizenmigrantsarabsandjewsinsouthtelavivisrael
AT zoharmor oralhealthdisparitiesinearlychildhoodandintergenerationalgapsamongnoncitizenmigrantsarabsandjewsinsouthtelavivisrael