Relationship between parental locus of control and caries experience in preschool children – cross-sectional survey

Background: Due to high prevalence and serious impacts, childhood caries represents a public health issue. Behavioural risk factors such as locus of health control have been implicated in the development of the disease; however their association with childhood caries has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the relationship between parental locus of health control and caries experience and untreated caries of their preschool children in a representative sample in Czech Republic, adjusting for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: A representative sample of 285 preschool children and their parents was recruited. Study data included children's dental status recorded in nurseries and parental questionnaires with 13 attitudinal items regarding locus of control (LoC) in caries prevention. The association between parental locus of control and children's caries experience and level of untreated caries was analysed using logistic regression, adjusting for the effect of key sociodemographic variables. Results: There was a statistically highly significant linear trend between increased parental LoC and higher probability of the children to be free from untreated caries, independent from the effect of sociodemographic variables of children and parents. A similar highly statistically significant trend, although not entirely linear, and independent from sociodemographic variables was observed with respect to the chance of the children to be free from caries experience with increasing strength of parental LoC. After full adjustment, children in the strongest parental LoC quintile were 2.81 (1.23–6.42, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from untreated caries in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile and 2.32 (1.02–5.25, p< 0.05) times more likely to be free from caries experience in comparison to the weakest parental LoC quintile. Conclusion: The findings support the hypothesis that higher internal parental LoC is associated with better control of both untreated caries and caries experience in their preschool children and highlight that a more internal LoC within the family is advantageous in the prevention of dental caries

Early childhood caries trends and surveillance shortcomings in the Czech Republic

Abstract Background Despite the decline in childhood caries prevalence, seen particularly in 1980s, in recent years there have been reports that the declining trend has stopped or even reversed in some countries. The aim of the study was to analyse data from previous epidemiological studies on early childhood caries in the Czech Republic, conduct a secondary analysis of trend in dental caries prevalence, and discuss issues related to national oral health surveillance. Methods Since the 1990s, caries prevalence in preschool children was monitored by two independent bodies: Institute of Health Information and Statistics (IHIS) that conducted 5 cross-sectional surveys over the period 1994–2006, and Institute of Dental Research (IDR) that conducted 4 studies over the years 1998–2010. Both study series differed in methods of sample selection and approaches to examiner training. For the assessment of the caries prevalence trends, regression modelling was used for the following oral-health indicators: caries experience, mean number of teeth with untreated caries (dt) and percentage of caries-free children. Results In both study series, a significant overall trend of declining caries experience and level of untreated caries, and an increasing trend of percentage of caries-free children was observed (p  Conclusions Both study series identified a significant decline of caries prevalence particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s. By the end of the investigated period, flattening of the caries decline was observed. The positive trend was observed in the absence of any systematic preventive initiatives on a population level. With respect to the above the authors assume that in the Czech Republic there still is a potential for further caries reduction in preschool population. This, however, cannot be expected without any health policy interventions. Oral health surveillance in the Czech Republic should be promoted by competent regulatory authorities.</p

Standards for permanent tooth emergence in Czech children

Abstract Background The aim of this study is to develop a population-specific reference for permanent tooth emergence among 4–15 years old Czech Republic children. The reference derived from this sample population are essential for pediatric dental diagnostics, orthodontic treatment planning, as well as anthropological and forensic applications. Methods In this cross-sectional epidemiological survey, dental examinations of 1,370 Czech children (696 girls (50,8%) and 674 boys (49,2%), whose parents or legal guardians all signed informed consent forms) from 11 elementary schools and kindergartens were performed in the classroom. During the examination, previously emerged permanent teeth (other than third molars), the child's age and gender were recorded. A tooth is defined as having erupted when at least any part of the crown penetrates the gingiva, and is clinically seen in the oral cavity. A logistic regression model was used to calculate the median emergence age per tooth for both genders and the total sample. The data was statistically processed (using IBM SPSS Statistics 23) and carried out at a deviation level of 0.05. The statistical significance of the differences in the emergence of permanent teeth (contralateral, intermaxillary, inter-gender differences) was evaluated by the McNemar test. Results No statistically significant differences were observed in the emergence times between right and left sides. In addition, mandibular teeth emerged earlier than the corresponding maxillary ones (with the exception of the first and second premolars). Permanent teeth were found to emerge sooner in girls. Furthermore, the greatest inter-gender difference was observed in maxillary canines. Conclusions The new data reported can now be used as standards when assessing permanent tooth emergence of Czech children

Relationship between parental locus of control and caries experience in preschool children – cross-sectional survey

Abstract Background Due to high prevalence and serious impacts, childhood caries represents a public health issue. Behavioural risk factors such as locus of health control have been implicated in the development of the disease; however their association with childhood caries has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this cross-sectional survey was to assess the relationship between parental locus of health control and caries experience and untreated caries of their preschool children in a representative sample in Czech Republic, adjusting for relevant sociodemographic characteristics. Methods A representative sample of 285 preschool children and their parents was recruited. Study data included children's dental status recorded in nurseries and parental questionnaires with 13 attitudinal items regarding locus of control (LoC) in caries prevention. The association between parental locus of control and children's caries experience and level of untreated caries was analysed using logistic regression, adjusting for the effect of key sociodemographic variables. Results There was a statistically highly significant linear trend between increased parental LoC and higher probability of the children to be free from untreated caries, independent from the effect of sociodemographic variables of children and parents. A similar highly statistically significant trend, although not entirely linear, and independent from sociodemographic variables was observed with respect to the chance of the children to be free from caries experience with increasing strength of parental LoC. After full adjustment, children in the strongest parental LoC quintile were 2.81 (1.23–6.42, p Conclusion The findings support the hypothesis that higher internal parental LoC is associated with better control of both untreated caries and caries experience in their preschool children and highlight that a more internal LoC within the family is advantageous in the prevention of dental caries.</p