248185 Can caregiver tooth loss status be used to determine child's caries risk?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011: 12:30 PM

Brett Kingma , Student, University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Baltimore, MD
Jenefer Willem, MS , Department of CRS & E, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Woosung Sohn, DDS, MS, PhD, DrPH , Dept. of CRS & E, School of Dentistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
     
Objective: This longitudinal study assessed the relationship between caregiver tooth loss and child caries status. Methods: A representative sample of 1,021 low-income African American children (0-5 years) and their caregivers were recruited in Detroit. 790 of these families participated in both Wave 1 (2002-03) and Wave 2 (2004-05). Dental caries was measured using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS). Caregiver tooth loss was recorded, either due to caries or other reasons. Peason correlation coefficients were calculated between caregiver tooth loss (Wave 1) and the present (Wave 1) and the future (Wave 2) caries status of their children. All analyses were weighted and accounted for the cluster sampling design using SAS 9.2 and STATA 10. Results: Caregivers' missing teeth (either the count or presence/absence) showed a significant correlation with the present and future caries status of their children. The results did not change when the third molars were included or excluded in the analysis. Presence of missing teeth in the anterior teeth (canine to canine) showed a significant relationship only with the future caries status of their children. Considering only missing due to caries slightly increased the correlation coefficients from missing due to any reasons, but overall trends remained the same. Conclusion: The results of this longitudinal study show that tooth loss of caregivers may be a risk indicator for the caries status of the caregivers' children. Evaluating caregiver tooth loss is potentially a simple and easy method that can be used to assess the caries risk of children.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Evaluate the usability and validity of caregivers tooth loss in predicting child’s caries development. 2. Assess the level of association by the site of missing teeth in predicting child’s caries development.

Keywords: Early Childhood Caries, Risk Assessment

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I was part of the Summer Immersion in Health Disparities Research Program at the University of Michigan during the summer of 2010; which included 80 hours of lectures, seminars, and field visits that explored substantive, methodological, and career issues in health disparities research, as well as 300 hours of research under the mentorship of Dr. Woosung Sohn.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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