Which determinants should be considered to reduce social inequalities in paediatric dental care access? A cross-sectional study in France

Better access to dental care through systemic and educational strategies is needed to lessen the burden of disease due to severe early caries. Our study aims to describe family characteristics associated with severe early caries: parental knowledge, attitudes, practices in oral health and socio-demo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2021-08, Vol.16 (8), p.e0255360-e0255360
Main Authors: Marquillier, Thomas, Trentesaux, Thomas, Pierache, Adeline, Delfosse, Caroline, Lombrail, Pierre, Azogui-Levy, Sylvie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Biology and Life Sciences
Children
Children & youth
Country of birth
Cross-sectional studies
Dental care
Dental caries
Dentistry
Disease prevention
Education
Families & family life
Health care access
Health care disparities
Health literacy
Hospitals
Medical care
Medicine and Health Sciences
Oral hygiene
Parents
Parents & parenting
Pediatrics
Pedodontics
People and Places
Questionnaires
Social aspects
Sociodemographics
Teeth
Utilization
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Summary:Better access to dental care through systemic and educational strategies is needed to lessen the burden of disease due to severe early caries. Our study aims to describe family characteristics associated with severe early caries: parental knowledge, attitudes, practices in oral health and socio-demographic factors. For this cross-sectional study, 102 parents of children aged under 6 years with severe early caries and attending paediatric dentistry service in France completed a questionnaire during face-to-face interviews. Caries were diagnosed clinically by calibrated investigators, using the American Academy of Paediatric Dentistry criteria, and dental status was recorded using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index. The majority of children were from underprivileged backgrounds and had poor oral health status, with a median dmft index of 10. Parents highlighted the difficulty of finding suitable dental care in private practices. Parents appeared to have good oral health knowledge and engaged in adapted behaviours but showed a low sense of self-efficacy. They perceived the severity of early caries as important but the susceptibility of their child as moderate. The study affirmed the importance of improving the accessibility of paediatric dental care and developing educational strategies to enhance the knowledge, skills, and oral health practices of families.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0255360