Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children

ObjectiveTo examine the social determinants of early childhood caries (ECC), one of the greatest public health risks affecting children, and examine alternative pathways of influence.MethodsA physically healthy, socio-demographically high-risk sample of initially caries-free children, aged 1–4 years...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Dorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski, Patricia G. Ragusa, Changyong Feng, Kim Flint, Gene E. Watson, Cynthia L. Wong, Steven R. Gill, Ronald J. Billings, Thomas G. O’Connor
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2024-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Pediatrics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1478302/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850175997629956096
author Dorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski
Patricia G. Ragusa
Changyong Feng
Kim Flint
Gene E. Watson
Cynthia L. Wong
Steven R. Gill
Ronald J. Billings
Thomas G. O’Connor
author_facet Dorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski
Patricia G. Ragusa
Changyong Feng
Kim Flint
Gene E. Watson
Cynthia L. Wong
Steven R. Gill
Ronald J. Billings
Thomas G. O’Connor
author_sort Dorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveTo examine the social determinants of early childhood caries (ECC), one of the greatest public health risks affecting children, and examine alternative pathways of influence.MethodsA physically healthy, socio-demographically high-risk sample of initially caries-free children, aged 1–4 years, was prospectively studied for 2 years. At 6-month intervals, assessments were made of caries presence from a standard dental exam; oral microbiology was assayed from saliva samples; oral hygiene behaviors and psychological and psychosocial risk exposure were derived from interviews and questionnaires.Results189 children were enrolled; ECC onset occurred in 48 children over the 2-year study period. A composite measure of psychosocial risk was significantly associated with ECC onset over the course of the study (1.57, 95% CI 1.12–2.20, p < .001) and significantly associated with multiple risks for ECC, including poor diet/feeding (.92; 95% CI. 22–1.61, p < .01), poor oral hygiene (.39; 95% CI .09–.68), p < .05), and higher concentrations Lactobacilli (.96; 95% CI .43–1.49, p < .001). Multivariable regression analyses provided indirect support for the hypothesis that psychosocial risk exposure predicts ECC onset via behavioral and oral hygiene pathways.ConclusionsThe study provides novel evidence that psychosocial factors influence many of the purported risks for ECC and strong evidence that there are social and psychological determinants of ECC onset.
format Article
id doaj-art-e10edb4e03194a9191f4eed84fe5163d
institution OA Journals
issn 2296-2360
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Pediatrics
spelling doaj-art-e10edb4e03194a9191f4eed84fe5163d2025-08-20T02:19:21ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Pediatrics2296-23602024-12-011210.3389/fped.2024.14783021478302Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young childrenDorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski0Patricia G. Ragusa1Changyong Feng2Kim Flint3Gene E. Watson4Cynthia L. Wong5Steven R. Gill6Ronald J. Billings7Thomas G. O’Connor8Department of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Biostatistics and Computational Biology and Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartment of Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesDepartments of Psychiatry, Neuroscience, and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United StatesObjectiveTo examine the social determinants of early childhood caries (ECC), one of the greatest public health risks affecting children, and examine alternative pathways of influence.MethodsA physically healthy, socio-demographically high-risk sample of initially caries-free children, aged 1–4 years, was prospectively studied for 2 years. At 6-month intervals, assessments were made of caries presence from a standard dental exam; oral microbiology was assayed from saliva samples; oral hygiene behaviors and psychological and psychosocial risk exposure were derived from interviews and questionnaires.Results189 children were enrolled; ECC onset occurred in 48 children over the 2-year study period. A composite measure of psychosocial risk was significantly associated with ECC onset over the course of the study (1.57, 95% CI 1.12–2.20, p < .001) and significantly associated with multiple risks for ECC, including poor diet/feeding (.92; 95% CI. 22–1.61, p < .01), poor oral hygiene (.39; 95% CI .09–.68), p < .05), and higher concentrations Lactobacilli (.96; 95% CI .43–1.49, p < .001). Multivariable regression analyses provided indirect support for the hypothesis that psychosocial risk exposure predicts ECC onset via behavioral and oral hygiene pathways.ConclusionsThe study provides novel evidence that psychosocial factors influence many of the purported risks for ECC and strong evidence that there are social and psychological determinants of ECC onset.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1478302/fulloral healthearly childhood cariessocial conditionssocial determinants of healthInternational Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)
spellingShingle Dorota T. Kopycka-Kedzierawski
Patricia G. Ragusa
Changyong Feng
Kim Flint
Gene E. Watson
Cynthia L. Wong
Steven R. Gill
Ronald J. Billings
Thomas G. O’Connor
Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
Frontiers in Pediatrics
oral health
early childhood caries
social conditions
social determinants of health
International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)
title Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
title_full Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
title_fullStr Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
title_full_unstemmed Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
title_short Psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
title_sort psychosocial determinants of oral health outcomes in young children
topic oral health
early childhood caries
social conditions
social determinants of health
International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS)
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fped.2024.1478302/full
work_keys_str_mv AT dorotatkopyckakedzierawski psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT patriciagragusa psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT changyongfeng psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT kimflint psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT geneewatson psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT cynthialwong psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT stevenrgill psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT ronaldjbillings psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren
AT thomasgoconnor psychosocialdeterminantsoforalhealthoutcomesinyoungchildren