Model to Explain Dental Visit for Children Aged 0 to 5: Scoping Review of Birth Cohorts

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2025 Jan 8

PMID 39774519

Authors

Pierre-Jean Berat

Vincent DE Andrade

Nolwenn Regnault

Annabelle Tenenbaum

Sylvie Azogui-Levy

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Health services accessibility is a multidimensional concept. An early-life dental visit could improve child dental health. Through birth cohorts, it is possible to identify health conditions and pathways of exposure that occur earlier in life. The aim of this study is to propose a theorical model to explain the use of dental care for children with primary teeth, based on results from birth cohorts.

Method: 3 databases were queried: PubMed, Embase and Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source. Eligible articles presented data on children's dental visits, with at least one follow-up visit between birth and the child's 6th birthday and based on birth cohorts.

Results: We identified 649 articles in biomedical literature databases. After exclusions, we read 136 abstracts, and finally 36 articles in their full length. A total of 22 articles were included in the analysis, from 15 countries on 5 continents. The mains proximal factors for access to dental care for preschool children are related to caregivers' perception of children's oral health and its impacts on quality of life. These perceptions are influenced by the child's oral health, the child's and mother's use of healthcare, and the healthcare organization. Dental fear seems to be another proximal factor. However, family social background seems to be an enabling moderator for dental visits.

Conclusion: The scoping review allowed us to develop a model that explains dental visits for children aged 0-5 years as a multifactorial process influenced by caregivers' perceptions of the child's oral health, the family's quality of life, and the child's dental anxiety.

References

Andersen R, McCutcheon A, Aday L, Chiu G, Bell R . Exploring dimensions of access to medical care. Health Serv Res. 1983; 18(1):49-74. PMC: 1068709. View

Patrick D, Lee R, Nucci M, Grembowski D, Jolles C, Milgrom P . Reducing oral health disparities: a focus on social and cultural determinants. BMC Oral Health. 2006; 6 Suppl 1:S4. PMC: 2147600. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6831-6-S1-S4. View

Pitchon A, Gomes V, Ferreira E Ferreira E . Salutogenesis in oral health research in preschool children: A scoping review. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2020; 31(3):372-382. DOI: 10.1111/ipd.12723. View

Donabedian A . Effects of MEDICARE and MEDICAID on access to and quality of health care. Public Health Rep. 1976; 91(4):322-31. PMC: 1440541. View

Nelson C, Wright C, Brumbaugh J, Neiswanger K, Crout R, Lilly C . Predictors of use of dental care by children in north-central Appalachia in the USA. PLoS One. 2021; 16(7):e0250488. PMC: 8297786. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250488. View

Hamasha A, Warren J, Levy S, Broffitt B, Kanellis M . Oral health behaviors of children in low and high socioeconomic status families. Pediatr Dent. 2006; 28(4):310-5. View

Finlayson T, Siefert K, Ismail A, Sohn W . Psychosocial factors and early childhood caries among low-income African-American children in Detroit. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2007; 35(6):439-48. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2006.00352.x. View

PENCHANSKY R, Thomas J . The concept of access: definition and relationship to consumer satisfaction. Med Care. 1981; 19(2):127-40. DOI: 10.1097/00005650-198102000-00001. View

Tricco A, Lillie E, Zarin W, OBrien K, Colquhoun H, Levac D . PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Ann Intern Med. 2018; 169(7):467-473. DOI: 10.7326/M18-0850. View

10.

Chi D, Momany E, Jones M, Kuthy R, Askelson N, Wehby G . Relationship between medical well baby visits and first dental examinations for young children in Medicaid. Am J Public Health. 2012; 103(2):347-54. PMC: 3558774. DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.300899. View

11.

Marquillier T, Trentesaux T, Pierache A, Delfosse C, Lombrail P, Azogui-Levy S . Which determinants should be considered to reduce social inequalities in paediatric dental care access? A cross-sectional study in France. PLoS One. 2021; 16(8):e0255360. PMC: 8336796. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0255360. View

12.

Levesque J, Harris M, Russell G . Patient-centred access to health care: conceptualising access at the interface of health systems and populations. Int J Equity Health. 2013; 12:18. PMC: 3610159. DOI: 10.1186/1475-9276-12-18. View

13.

Levy S, Broffitt B, Slayton R, Warren J, Kanellis M . Dental visits and professional fluoride applications for children ages 3 to 6 in Iowa. Pediatr Dent. 2004; 25(6):565-71. View

14.

Slayton R, Warren J, Levy S, Kanellis M, Islam M . Frequency of reported dental visits and professional fluoride applications in a cohort of children followed from birth to age 3 years. Pediatr Dent. 2002; 24(1):64-8. View

15.

Kalhan T, Un Lam C, Karunakaran B, Chay P, Chng C, Nair R . Caries Risk Prediction Models in a Medical Health Care Setting. J Dent Res. 2020; 99(7):787-796. PMC: 7343522. DOI: 10.1177/0022034520913476. View

16.

Peres M, Macpherson L, Weyant R, Daly B, Venturelli R, Mathur M . Oral diseases: a global public health challenge. Lancet. 2019; 394(10194):249-260. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31146-8. View

17.

Feldens C, Fortuna M, Kramer P, Ardenghi T, Vitolo M, Chaffee B . Family Health Strategy associated with increased dental visitation among preschool children in Brazil. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2018; 28(6):624-632. PMC: 6188830. DOI: 10.1111/ipd.12421. View

18.

Beautrais A, Fergusson D, SHANNON F . Use of preschool dental services in a New Zealand birth cohort. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1982; 10(5):249-52. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1982.tb00388.x. View

19.

Nowjack-Raymer R, Gift H . Contributing factors to maternal and child oral health. J Public Health Dent. 1990; 50(6 Spec No):370-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1990.tb02152.x. View

20.

Schluter P, Kanagaratnam S, Taylor S, Tautolo E . Acculturation and its impact on the oral health status of Pacific children in New Zealand: findings from the Pacific Islands Families study. J Public Health Dent. 2017; 77(3):225-233. DOI: 10.1111/jphd.12202. View