A study undertaken by the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine has found that there is close correlation between a mother's perception of the oral health of her child/ren and the actual health of their teeth and gums.
Drawing off cross-section data from the Center for Oral Health Research in Appalachia study, which examined mothers and children younger than six years old, the researchers also sought to determine to what degree socio-demographic factors plays a role in this finding.
Over two-thirds of the 815 mother-child dyads (pairings containing two or more elements) from Pennsylvania and West Virginia demonstrated the correlation between maternally-perceived and actual caries status with further work then undertaken to compare the socio-economic status of the "concordant and non-concordant mother-child pairs", according to Dental Tribune.
It is hoped that the findings will effectively contribute to the development of strategies aimed at prevention and treatment of younger children who show a greater susceptibility to developing caries.
The study, titled "Association between a child's caries experience and the mother's perception of her child's oral health status", was published online in the June 2019 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association.
