Snell, Ariel
(2020)
Association Between a Child’s Caries Experience and the Mother’s Perception of Her Child’s Oral Health Status.
Master Essay, University of Pittsburgh.
Abstract
Objectives. Mothers play a primary role in the health of their children. This role may be of particular importance for children in Appalachia who have increased caries relative to children in other regions of the United States. The authors examined the degree to which a child’s caries experience was in concordance with mother’s perception of the health of her child’s teeth, and how concordance varied by sociodemographic factors.
Methods. The authors obtained cross-sectional data on mother-child dyads with children younger than 6 years through the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia study. They interviewed and clinically examined a community-based sample of 815 mother-child dyads in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. They used an unadjusted zero-inflated negative binomial model to estimate the association between a mother’s perception of her child’s oral health status and her child’s caries. The authors compared sociodemographic factors between concordant and non-concordant mother-child dyads using χ2 tests.
Results. The mother’s perception of child oral health status was associated with child’s caries experience (P<.001). Two-thirds of mother-child dyads showed concordance between the mother’s perception of her child’s oral health status and the child’s dental caries experience (n=522, 64%). Concordance was associated with younger child age and child dental insurance (P<.01).
Conclusions. On average, mothers accurately perceived their child’s caries experience. This accuracy was higher for younger children and children with dental insurance.
Practical Implications. The mother’s awareness of her child’s oral health status has public health significance, as it could be used to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies, particularly for young children vulnerable to dental caries.
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