Mothers' caries increases odds of children's caries.
There are many determinants of children's dental caries. We hypothesized that a mother's untreated caries was associated with increased likelihood of her children's untreated caries, after controlling for other factors. This population-based study was conducted in a rural, primarily Hispanic, California community. Interview and dental examination data for mother-child (children < 18 yrs old) dyads were analyzed. In a Generalized Estimation Equation (GEE) logit model for mothers (n = 179) and children (n = 387), maternal untreated caries was a statistically significant correlate of child's untreated caries, odds ratio (OR) = 1.76 (95%CI: 1.10, 2.70), adjusted for demographic factors. This relationship did not change when behavioral and dental utilization factors were added to the model, OR = 1.85 (95% CI: 1.12, 3.07). Maternal untreated caries almost doubled the odds of children's untreated caries and significantly increased child's caries severity by about 3 surfaces. Caries prevention and dental utilization programs for mothers and their children should be increased.
Weintraub
J A
JA
University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry, Center to Address Disparities in Children's Oral Health, 3333 California Street, Suite 495, San Francisco, CA 94143-1361, USA. Jane.Weintraub@ucsf.edu
Prakash
P
P
Shain
S G
SG
Laccabue
M
M
Gansky
S A
SA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011203:Poverty; D015995:Prevalence; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult