Impact of Oral Health Literacy on the Clinical Consequences of Untreated Dental Caries in Preschool Children

Purpose: To evaluate the association between parental oral health literacy (OHL) and untreated early childhood caries and its clinical consequences in children. Methods: Population-based, cross-sectional study was conducted with 449 parent-preschooler dyads (four-to-six-year-olds) in Ribeirao das Neves, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Parents answered a socioeconomic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Hong Kong Oral Health Literacy Assessment Task for Paediatric Dentistry (BOHLAT-P), which measures parental OHL in pediatric dentistry. Preschoolers were examined by two calibrated dentists for the diagnosis of caries (ICDASepi-merged) and its clinical consequences: visible pulp; oral mucosa ulceration due to root fragments; fistula; and abscess (pufa). Data were submitted to univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses (P<0.05). Results: A multivariable model that adjusted for socioeconomic status showed that parental OHL was not associated with untreated dental caries (P=0.618). Parents with lower OHL had a greater odds of having children with at least one clinical consequence of untreated dental caries (odds ratio equals 0.94; 95 percent confidence interval equals 0.89 to 0.98) than parents with higher OHL. Conclusions: Low parental OHL appears to impact the occurrence of at least one clinical consequence of untreated dental caries in children but not in the simple presence of untreated dental caries.