Community dentistry and oral epidemiology最新文献

{"title":"The Dental Recall Examination: Room for Overtreatment?","authors":"Eero Raittio, Vibeke Baelum","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70004","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70004","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"378-380"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144526667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Costs of Providing Culturally Safe Dental Care for Indigenous People of Australia: A Follow-Up Intervention Study.","authors":"Gina L Guzzo, Sanjeewa Kularatna, Sonia Nath, Kostas Kapellas, Laura S Weyrich, Joanne Hedges, Lisa M Jamieson","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70048","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70048","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To establish the monetary costs of supporting the Indigenous community in Australia to receive culturally safe dental care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Financial data was analysed from a follow-up dental intervention study involving 173 Indigenous Australians-164 adults and nine children-who received fully funded dental treatment through private dental clinics. Participants were seen at baseline and 12-month follow-up for an oral health assessment, conducted at a location of their preference. Following the initial assessment, participants were referred to a private dental practice near their residence or of their choosing, with preference given to a practice that employed an Indigenous dentist. The study team provided additional support as required, such as transportation vouchers to attend appointments, assistance with bookings, providing reminders, and checking in regarding treatment experiences.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Most participants were employed and primarily resided in metropolitan and inner regional locations of South Australia. The total expenditure for private dental treatment was nearly $300 000 AUD, with a median per capita cost of $1332 AUD (IQR: $727-$2311). The largest proportion of funding (42.3%) was spent on restorative treatments, both overall and within each age group. Participants who reported they would have considerable difficulty paying a $100 dental bill had a higher median cost of treatment ($1384, IQR: $1073-$2691) than those who reported they would have less difficulty ($961, IQR: $633-$2001). Following dental treatment, participants reported that both their general and oral health improved.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The dental expenditure and volume of care required by participants in this study demonstrate that unmet dental needs persist in the Indigenous community, which can be addressed by reducing cultural, structural, and financial barriers.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"361-369"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145762447","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Estimating Caries Risk in Unsealed-Permanent Molars Among Young Adults With Data From Repeated National Surveys and a Markov Model.","authors":"Susan O Griffin, Mei Lin, Shillpa Naavaal, Liang Wei, Christina R Scherrer","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70040","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70040","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Demonstrate and evaluate methodology to estimate annual probability a sound-unsealed molar develops caries (AP) among US adults, aged 21 and 25 years.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A synthetic birth cohort was created with National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2001 to 2004 and 2011 to 2014. The synthetic birth cohort was born between 1982 and 1989 and was aged 15 to 19 years in 2001-2004 and 25 to 29 in 2011-2014. Caries increment (difference in per-person decayed, missing and filled molars (DMF) between adolescence and young adulthood) obtained from the synthetic birth cohort was used to estimate AP not adjusted for the presence of sealants. Adjusted estimates were obtained by inputting information on sound-sealed, sound-unsealed and DMF molars among adolescents and DMF among young adults from the synthetic cohort and sealant retention from the literature into a Markov model. AP was estimated by solving for the AP that yielded the DMF for the synthetic cohort in young adults. To evaluate Markov-model performance, longitudinal data from five caries effectiveness trials were used to estimate true AP and adjusted AP. One-way sensitivity analyses of model parameters were also conducted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The adjusted AP (0.038) was notably higher than the unadjusted AP (0.031). The average and median percentage deviation of adjusted APs relative to their true values were, respectively, 10.1% and 7.1%. The most influential model parameters were DMF in adulthood and annual retention.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This methodology provides reasonable estimates of AP that can be used in cost-effective analyses of providing sealants to young adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"294-302"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12704468/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145534423","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Preventing Dental Caries in Indonesia: A Scoping Review of Policies and National Initiatives.","authors":"Isi Susanti, Palinee Detsomboonrat, Rosa Amalia, Nipaporn Urwannachotima","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70044","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dental caries remains a significant public health issue in Indonesia, with high prevalence across age groups and ongoing disparities in access to preventive care. While national initiatives such as the 'Caries-Free Indonesia by 2030' goal signal increasing political attention, the effectiveness and equity of current oral health strategies remain uncertain.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This scoping review aims to assess the policy direction and documented effectiveness of Indonesia's national-level caries prevention programmes through a review of government policy documents and relevant literature.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This scoping review followed the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic search was conducted through PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library and Google Scholar, and supplemented by government policy documents. Studies were included if they focused on oral health policy or national caries prevention programmes in Indonesia and were published in English or Indonesian. Exclusion criteria included reviews, commentaries, clinical treatment-focused studies and articles without full text or policy relevance. In total, 32 articles were included in this study.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Indonesia's oral health policy framework has evolved toward greater integration and equity, reflected in expanded target populations and alignment with WHO's life-course approach. However, implementation remains fragmented due to inconsistent implementation, workforce shortages, inadequate funding and weak evaluation. The School Dental Health Program (UKGS) demonstrates inconsistent outcomes across provinces and lacks a robust data system for monitoring. Community-based initiatives, such as Posyandu and integrated antenatal care (iANC), show promise but are limited in scale and evaluation. Preventive efforts are underfunded under the UHC scheme, while curative services dominate. Additionally, the absence of a sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax and poor integration of oral health into national surveillance systems hinders upstream and system-wide interventions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite policy advancements, Indonesia's oral health policies and national-level programmes face some barriers that limit programme effectiveness. Strengthening data systems, rebalancing health financing toward prevention, implementing fiscal measures and formalising multi-sectoral coordination are essential to support sustainable oral health improvements.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"333-346"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145707666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lunchbox Preparation as a Social Practice and Its Impact on Children's Oral Health in Culturally Diverse Contexts.","authors":"Rashmi Jamkar, Paul R Ward, Colleen Fisher, Hanny Calache, Linda Slack-Smith","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70042","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70042","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>Poor oral health (dental decay) is a globally recognised concern, especially among refugee and immigrant children. Poor oral health is linked with children's unhealthy dietary intake and eating patterns. The objective of this study was to explore lunchbox preparation as a social practice and its interconnection with other social practices to understand its effect on children's dietary consumption and in turn on oral health.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Focused ethnography was utilised to enable an in-depth understanding of lunchbox preparation as a social practice and its elements: materials (physical objects), meanings (purpose) and competences (knowledge). Semi-structured interviews with 35 mothers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and five service providers, along with observations, were used for data collection. Data were analysed inductively and deductively through a social practice theory lens.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Lunchbox preparation was identified as a social practice shaped by interconnected practices of meal planning, food shopping and cooking. Meanings behind the contents of lunchboxes included children's preferences, emotional dynamics, ideals of responsible parenting not limited to nutrition. Competences in preparing convenient, easy and desirable meals were also noted. Inclusion of ready-to-eat discretionary foods (materials) was also reported.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Through a social practice lens, it was demonstrated how everyday decisions around the contents of lunchboxes are often driven by convenience, emotional needs and not by individual choices. This may contribute to increased consumption of retentive and sugary foods thus shaping dietary routines and eating patterns that have implications for children's oral health. The findings also highlight the need to view these food-related practices as socially embedded rather than purely individual or nutrition-driven.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"303-315"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145899249","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socio-Economic Differences in the Oral Health of Irish Adolescents: The Potential Role of Behavioural, Material and Psychosocial Factors.","authors":"Vinay Sharma, Michael O'Sullivan, Lewis Winning, Oscar Cassetti, Aifric O'Sullivan, Bahman Honari, Michael Crowe","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70043","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70043","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>Socio-economic inequalities in oral health are a universal phenomenon. This study investigated socio-economic differences in Irish adolescents' oral health and the potential role of behaviour (oral health behaviours), material (structural, material and economic constraints) and psychosocial factors (parental stress and family structure) in these differences.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data analysed were from the first three waves of the Growing Up in Ireland child cohort survey on self- (self-rated oral health (SROH)) and parent-reported oral health outcomes (dental fillings) at age 17/18 years; socio-economic status (SES) measures, behavioural, material and psychosocial factors at 13 years; and potential confounders at 9 years of age. Logistic regression was used to study associations between oral health outcomes and SES indicators and for mediation analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Socio-economic disadvantage was associated with poorer oral health outcomes, with gender-specific patterns. Young males from the lowest educational and income groups had higher odds of suboptimal (fair/poor) self-rated oral health (odds ratio (OR)_Education: 2.31 (1.29; 4.13) and OR_Income: 1.72 (1.16; 2.56)), and those in the lowest income quintile and with full medical cards had higher odds of dental fillings (ORs_Income: 1.58-1.82 and ORs_{Medical card}: 1.44-1.65) compared with higher socio-economic groups. Young females showed significant associations between selected socio-economic indicators (education, income, occupation and medical status) (ORs: 1.39-3.34) and dental fillings, with education demonstrating the strongest association (ORs_Education: 1.91-3.34). For males, material, behavioural, and psychosocial factors mediated the SES-SROH relationship (97%-100%, 22%-69% and 5%-56% respectively), whereas for dental fillings, mediation was observed for material (11%-55%) and psychosocial (10%-37%) factors, with minimal mediation by behavioural factors (0%-2%). Among females, material factors were the primary mediators of the SES-dental fillings relationship (11%-55%), with smaller contributions from behavioural (0%-21%) and psychosocial (0%-26%) factors.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Social disparities in oral health are common among Irish adolescents with gender-specific patterns. Material factors were the primary pathway explaining these inequalities, though the strength and nature of these relationships vary by oral health outcome and gender.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"316-332"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13146151/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145699960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sense of Coherence as a Modifier of Income Inequalities in Self-Rated Oral and General Health: A Cross-Sectional Study.","authors":"Mehrsa Zakershahrak, Sergio Chrisopoulos, Liana Luzzi, Lisa Jamieson, David Brennan","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70033","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70033","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate whether a stronger Sense of Coherence (SOC) modifies the association between low household income and poor self-rated dental and general health measures (SRDH and SRGH, respectively).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Cross-sectional analyses were performed using data from the Dental Care and Oral Health Study (DCOHS, 2015-2016) in South Australia (n = 3664). In multivariate Poisson regression models, the main effects, interactions and effect modifications of SOC in the association between income and SRDH and SRGH were estimated using prevalence ratios (PRs) for poor self-rated health.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the low-income group, among those with stronger SOC, the prevalence of poor SRDH (16.0%) and SRGH (8.1%) was lower than that of those with weaker SOC (25.0% and 18.9%). Lower coherence (weak SOC) was associated with poor SRGH (PR = 4.8, 95% CI [1.8-13.1]). The interaction between lower coherence and low- and middle-income strata was not associated with the prevalence of poor SRDH and SRGH.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although interactions between SOC and income were not statistically significant, findings suggest a potential modifying role of strong SOC on the association between low income and poor health. These results should be interpreted with caution, as they are exploratory.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"285-293"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145343951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oral Health-Head and Neck Cancers: Addressing Confounding Through Negative Control and Quantitative Bias Analyses.","authors":"P K Elango, B Nicolau, N Farsi, A V Grant, M C Rousseau, S Madathil","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70046","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70046","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>While there are plausible biological explanations for the association between oral health and head and neck cancers (HNC), existing studies have yielded conflicting results. A key concern is that these associations are influenced by mediators, unmeasured risk factors, and biases. To address this, a negative control exposure was used to evaluate whether the associations between oral health and HNC risk could be attributed to unmeasured confounding. Additionally, quantitative bias analysis (QBA) was performed to estimate the extent of non-differential misclassification of exposure.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The HeNCe study, a hospital-based case-control study, recruited incident HNC cases (n = 389) frequency matched to controls (n = 429) by sex and age (within 5 years) from four major referral hospitals in Montreal, Canada. In-person interviews collected information on life course exposures. Unconditional logistic regression estimated the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between oral health indicators and HNC, controlling for confounders identified using directed acyclic graphs (DAG). Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) were used as a negative control exposure to test for unmeasured confounding in the associations. QBA, using predetermined bias parameters from previous studies, estimated the magnitude and direction of exposure misclassification bias.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Complete denture use and having more than nine missing teeth were associated with an increased HNC risk [OR = 1.33, 95% CI (0.93-1.90) & OR = 1.31, 95% CI (0.93-1.83)], respectively. Similar results were obtained when stratified by HNC subsite. Negative control analysis yielded a null finding, indicating no significant bias due to unmeasured confounders. Bias-corrected estimates of the association between oral health indicators and HNC risk moved further from the null.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Negative control exposure analysis indicated that unmeasured confounding did not affect the association between oral health and HNC risk. QBA yielded corrected estimates of increased magnitude, suggesting that the crude associations may have been underestimated.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"347-353"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13146185/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145767166","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oral Health Interventions to Improve Access in Rural Areas of High-Income Countries: A Mixed Methods Systematic Review.","authors":"Amanda Kenny, Virginia Dickson-Swift, Alexandra Carlin, David Nelson, Mark Gussy, Hewage Dona Vindya Gayathri, Sarah Baker","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70058","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70058","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>The aim of this mixed methods systematic review was to identify oral health interventions in rural areas of high-income countries and synthesise the evidence on how access is addressed.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Searches were conducted in Cochrane, CINAHL, Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source, PsycINFO and PubMed, with the last search in January-February 2025. All study types published in English since 2000 were included that reported oral health interventions aimed at addressing access to dental services. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool was used to assess study quality. The Penchansky and Thomas model of access, with Saurman's adaptation, guided the thematic synthesis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The final dataset was 73 articles. Most authors reported small-scale interventions delivered by dental and primary health providers. Fluoride varnish application, treatments and health promotion were most reported in clinics, community settings and schools. Lack of service availability and accessibility caused by geographic distance required alternative service models, including telehealth. Free or minimal cost interventions were needed in low-income settings. Stakeholder partnerships and understanding of local context were critical. Evaluations of community acceptability and awareness were rare. There was a dearth of studies addressing the six dimensions of access, with wide variation in study quality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>There is an absence of robust, well evaluated studies, with lack of homogeneity preventing meta-analysis. Rural oral health interventions should be informed by comprehensive frameworks of access, be grounded in equity, involve communities in design, development and evaluation, should reduce silos between oral and general healthcare, and should prioritise prevention. Access to high quality oral health is a fundamental human rights and equity issue for rural people.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"273-284"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13146141/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146218856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intergenerational Dental Fear and Anxiety: Children's Pattern of Dental Service Use.","authors":"Helena Silveira Schuch, Cinthia Fonseca Araujo, Giulia Tarquinio Demarco, Mariana Gonzalez Cademartori, Marília Leão Goettems, Andréa Dâmaso Bertoldi, Daniel W McNeil, Flávio Fernando Demarco","doi":"10.1111/cdoe.70057","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cdoe.70057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Dental care-related fear and anxiety, involving emotional reactions to dental situations, can negatively impact children's quality of life, oral and systemic health. Recognising maternal characteristics as key determinants of child health, this study examined the intergenerational relationship between dental fear/anxiety and early childhood dental service utilisation.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were drawn from the baseline (birth), 12-month, and four-year follow-ups of the 2015 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study (Brazil). Outcomes included child dental fear/anxiety and dental service use (frequency and reasons) at age four. Exposures were maternal dental fear/anxiety at 12-month and maternal assessment of child dental fear/anxiety. Covariates, including maternal education and family income, were collected perinatally. All variables were obtained through questionnaires administered to mothers at each follow-up. Analyses used Poisson and multinomial logistic regression models.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The sample included 3809 mother-child dyads; 79.7% of mothers and 64.2% of children had no reported dental fear/anxiety, yet 64.0% of children had never visited a dentist. Adjusted analyses showed that maternal dental fear/anxiety was associated with a 1.20 times higher prevalence of childhood dental fear/anxiety (PR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.09; 1.32). Children with dental fear/anxiety had a 1.89 times higher prevalence of visits for curative reasons (PR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.45; 2.48) and a 2.10 times higher prevalence of never visiting a dentist (PR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.78; 2.48), adjusting for maternal dental fear/anxiety.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Early and regular preventive visits may help mitigate dental fear/anxiety. This study highlights the intergenerational link between maternal and childhood dental fear and its impact on dental service utilisation.</p>","PeriodicalId":10580,"journal":{"name":"Community dentistry and oral epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":"370-377"},"PeriodicalIF":2.1,"publicationDate":"2026-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13146147/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146164031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}