Dental News - Study examines correlation between maternal dental anxiety and oral health status of children

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 21. June 2019

save

MURADNAGAR, India: Many people with dental anxiety avoid regular visits to the dentist, which in turn can lead to a deterioration in their oral health and further increase their anxiety. A recent study by researchers from the Department of Public Health Dentistry at I.T.S Dental College in Muradnagar in India has shown that mothers’ dental anxiety has a direct impact on their children’s oral health, as it is usually the mother who has the greatest impact on the child during the first years of life.

The researchers examined 200 mother–child pairs in a cross-sectional study. The oral health status of the children, who were between 2 and 5 years old, was determined using the decayed, missing or filled (dmf) teeth index and a modified gingival index (MGI). A five-level modified dental anxiety scale (MDAS) was used to assess the dental anxiety of the mothers. Approximately 39.0% were assessed as fairly anxious, 34.8% were slightly anxious, 11.7% were not anxious, 10.7% were very anxious, and 3.7% were phobic.

The results of the study showed a clear link between the mothers’ dental anxiety and their children’s oral health, as the MGI score was high in the case of high MDAS values. The mean MGI score was highest in the phobic and lowest in the not anxious category. A similar result applied for the dmf index. The prevalence of caries in children with highly anxious mothers was fundamentally higher than those with less anxious and non-anxious mothers. Children of phobic mothers had the highest number of decayed, missing or filled teeth.

“Dental anxiety demonstrated a dynamic and clear effect on the oral health of individuals. Parent’s dental fear influences the youngster’s oral health result. Guardians with high-anxiety level maintain a strategic distance from dental treatment themselves and do not take their ward to the dental practitioner,” concluded the authors.

The study, titled “Association between maternal dental anxiety and its effect on the oral health status of their child: An institutional cross sectional study”, was published in the February 2019 issue of the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care.

Tags:

To post a reply please login or register

Study examines mother’s perception of her child’s oral health status

PITTSBURGH, U.S.: Mothers play a primary role in the health of their children. This function may be particularly important for children in Appalachia, a ...

Study finds no correlation between poor oral hygiene and HPV-positive oral cancer

ATLANTA, U.S.: Poor oral health and hygiene are known risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Researchers have now found that poor oral health...

Study examines oral health of war-affected Ukrainian refugees in Germany

AACHEN, Germany: Dental care is vital for well-being and overall health but is sometimes neglected because of certain barriers to accessing dental services....

Study examines oral health of individuals with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder

SASKATOON, Canada: Oral health can dramatically influence overall health and quality of life. This is especially true for those with developmental ...

New study investigates dental anxiety in children

MANGALORE, India: A key reason behind people not attending regular oral health check-ups can be anxiety stemming from their first experience in a dental ...

Links between oral microbiome, genetic variations and periodontitis examined in new study

OKAYAMA, Japan: Since periodontitis has been linked to systemic health conditions, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, ...

Study shines spotlight on oral health of children with autism

DURBAN, South Africa: As the number of reported cases of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) continues to climb across the globe, the special ...

Oral health gap closing between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children

MELBOURNE, Australia: The disparity in oral health between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians is an ongoing issue. Caused in part by limited access ...

New study examines effects of different anti-cancer therapy on oral health

JERUSALEM, Israel: It has been previously established that adults who have undergone cancer treatment may have dental anomalies. However, no research to ...

Study examines oral health behaviours in elite athletes

LONDON, UK: Various studies have found that poor oral health may impair training and athletic performance. A recent study has examined oral health ...

Education

Live webinar
Mon. 22 April 2024
10:00 am EST (New York)