The Impact of Parental Education on Schoolchildren’s Oral Health—A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in Romania

Ramona Dumitrescu, Ruxandra Sava-Rosianu (), Daniela Jumanca, Octavia Balean, Lia-Raluca Damian, Aurora Doris Fratila, Laurentiu Maricutoiu, Adrian Ioan Hajdu, Roxanne Focht, Mihaela Adina Dumitrache, Constantin Daguci, Mariana Postolache, Corina Vernic () and Atena Galuscan
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Ramona Dumitrescu: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Ruxandra Sava-Rosianu: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Daniela Jumanca: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Octavia Balean: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Lia-Raluca Damian: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Aurora Doris Fratila: Faculty of Dental Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilian-University Munich, Goethestraße 70, 80336 München, Germany
Laurentiu Maricutoiu: Department of Psychology, West University of Timisoara, 300223 Timisoara, Romania
Adrian Ioan Hajdu: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Roxanne Focht: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania
Mihaela Adina Dumitrache: Oral Health and Community Dentistry Department, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020021 Bucharest, Romania
Constantin Daguci: Department of Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 200585 Craiova, Romania
Mariana Postolache: Department of Program Implementation and Coordination, Romanian Ministry of Health, 010024 Bucharest, Romania
Corina Vernic: Discipline of Computer Science and Medical Biostatistics, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Atena Galuscan: Translational and Experimental Clinical Research Centre in Oral Health, Department of Preventive, Community Dentistry and Oral Health, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Victor Babes”, 300040 Timisoara, Romania

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-13

Abstract: The present study is part of the first national oral health survey for children in Romania. The aim of this study was to determine caries prevalence in correlation with the level of the parents’ education, preventive behavior, and socioeconomic parameters in 11–14-year-old schoolchildren in Romania. A cross-sectional epidemiological survey was designed and conducted in 2019–2020. The sampled children were selected from 49 schools distributed in rural and urban areas of Romania, including its capital. Data were collected using the Oral Health Questionnaire for Children developed by the World Health Organization and described in the WHO Oral Health Surveys—Basic Methods, 5th edition, 2013, after positive informed consent. To express prevalence and severity of carious lesions, International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria were recorded in school for 814 schoolchildren (388 boys and 426 girls) aged between 11 and 14 years old (mean age 12.29 ± 0.6). Elements regarding the specificity of the child (gender, age, and parental education) were tabulated against preventive behavior. The parents’ education was correlated with three clinical indices in order to assess the existence or lack of certain significant differences among schoolchildren in Romania. In terms of correlation between the mother’s education and preventive behavior, results showed a significant positive correlation in case of dental check-ups (r s = 0.08 *, p < 0.05), brushing (r s = 0.02 **, p < 0.01), and use of different types of dental hygiene aids (r s = 0.06 **, p < 0.01) and a negative correlation with tooth pain or discomfort (r s = −0.01 **, p < 0.01). A statistically significant positive relationship was highlighted between the mother’s education and the presence of restorations (r s = −0.09 **, p < 0.01). Regarding the father’s education, there was a positive relationship with oral hygiene behavior (r s = 0.18 **, p < 0.01) but a negative relationship with the D 3 T index (r s = −0.18 **, p < 0.01). In conclusion, there was a strong correlation between the parents’ education, preventive behavior, and oral health status of Romanian schoolchildren.

Keywords: oral health; caries; children; parents’ education (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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