Study of the relationship between family environmental factors and dental caries status in children

To assess family environmental factors that impact caries in children during a follow-up study for family-based community oral health promotion models.

This study was conducted from June to December 2015. A total of 200 households were selected from Jinzhou community in Nanning with the random sampling method. The data were collected through oral examinations and questionnaire surveys of family members. A logistic regression model was used to analyze the relationship between family environment factors, such as socioeconomic and family-related behaviors, and caries in children.

After adjustment for confounding factors, families in which more than 1,000 mL of sugar drinks were purchased per month; those in which the family members had a low frequency of brushing (occasionally or not); those in which the mother had a high frequency of drinking sweet drinks (more than one time each day), brushed with low frequency (less than 2 times), had no regular oral examination in the past year, or had low scores in oral health attitude and knowledge; those in which the father/mother had a low level of education (short-cycle courses and under); and those with a low annual household income (less than 50,000 RMB) had children with high rates of dental caries. Families purchasing sugar drinks >1000 mL per month were 2.22 times more likely than families purchasing sugar drinks ≤1000 mL per month to have caries in children.

Family environmental factors exert a certain influence on children's caries, and this information is a useful reference for a follow-up study.