Socio-environmental determinants of the delay in the first dental visit: results of two population-based cohort studies in Brazil

Parental oral health literacy influences preschool children's utilization of dental services

Parental behavior towards their children's oral health is strongly influenced by parent's Oral Health Literacy (OHL) level. This study evaluated the impact of parental OHL on preschool children's utilization of dental services. A cross-sectional study was conducted with parents of 419 children aged 3 to 5 years who answered a self-administered questionnaire about their perception of their children's oral health and whether their children had already been to a dental visit. Parental OHL level was assessed by the validated version of the Oral Health Literacy Adult Questionnaire (OHL-AQ) translated into Brazilian Portuguese. Univariate and multivariate Poisson regression analyses with robust variance were used for the data analysis (α = 0.05). Most children had already been to a dental visit (73%). Overall, 31.7% of the parents or guardians reported that their children had experienced dental pain or dental caries. Parental OHL level was classified by tercile as low, medium, and high. The final model showed independent associations between children who had already been to a dental visit and higher parental OHL level (PR = 1.16; 95%CI = 1.00-1.35) when compared to the lowest OHL level, higher parental educational level (PR = 1.39; 95%CI = 1.03-1.87) when compared to lower educational level, the report of children's pain and dental caries (PR = 1.22; 95%CI = 1.09-1.36) and married parents or parents in a common-law marriage (PR = 1.17; 95%CI = 1.03-1.93). The prevalence of children who had already been to a dental visit was higher among those parents with a higher OHL level when compared to those with a lower OHL level.

Time elapsed since peruvian children's last dental care and head of household educational attainment: findings from a national database

BACKGROUND

It has been documented that the parents' highest level of education has an impact on their children's access to oral health services and the frequency of their use.This study aimed to determine the association between time elapsed since peruvian children's last dental care and head of household educational attainment.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study using a database of children aged 0 to 11 years, with a final sample of 8012 participants. The dependent variable in this study was the time elapsed since last dental care and the independent variable was the head of household educational attainment. Other covariates considered were natural region, area of residence, place of residence, altitude, wealth index, health insurance coverage, sex and age. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistical analyses were applied.

RESULTS

Time elapsed since last dental care in the year 2021 was 5.68 years (SD = 5.25). A hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was performed, analyzing the variables dimensions by separate and joint models. When head of household educational attainment was analyzed, there was no statistical significance (p = 0.262); however, other models did (p < 0.05). Model 4, which addresses all dimensions, was significant (p < 0.001) with an R2% of 0.011 and constant equal to 5.788; it showed significance with place of dental care, health insurance, altitude and age.

CONCLUSIONS

No association was found between head of household educational attainment and time elapsed since last dental care; however, the latter was associated with place of care, health insurance coverage, altitude and age in Peruvian children.

Being born and growing up in the Ribeirão Preto and São Luís cohorts

This thematic issue consists of 14 articles derived from studies of the BRISA birth cohort (Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo and São Luís, State of Maranhão, northeastern Brazil, a socially and economically less developed region). In these more than 40 years of existence, these cohorts have been able to document the increase in women's education, the improvement of health conditions, the creation of a public Unified Health System (SUS) that provides universal and free access to health care, eradication of hunger, and transition of the nutritional status characterized by a decrease in malnutrition rates and an increase in obesity in Brazil. Particularly in reproductive health, the country experienced a significant drop in fertility, a decrease in maternal and child mortality, and an increase in breastfeeding rates. Universal access to prenatal care and hospital delivery was accompanied by an excessive number of cesareans without clinical indication and early-term births and premature births, largely due to scheduled cesareans. Articles with a longitudinal and transversal methodological approach are presented, using structural equation analysis and propensity score, together with multivariate regressions, which gave a robust analytical treatment to articles in this thematic issue.