Medicina neonatal y pediátrica

Abstracto

Intergenerational Caries among Mother-Child Pairs following Migration

Flynn P, Chang V and Lunos JMS

Objectives: Dental caries experience among immigrants upon migrations often lower than the comparative US-population, but this advantage is quickly reversed. One strong predictor of child caries experience is maternal oral health, a relationship not confirmed among immigrants. This study explored the association between caries experience of immigrant mothers and their children, and caries experience between mothers and children grouped by preferred maternal language. Methods: The study was conducted at a Midwestern urban clinic and compared caries experience of 286 childmother pairs grouped by preferred maternal language. Data were abstracted from dental and administrative records. Results: No correlation was found between mother-child caries experience. Statistically significant differences were found between Southeast Asian mothers and all other groups (English, Somali, and Spanish), but no differences were found between child groups. Conclusions: Clinicians should note that mother’s oral health status may not predict their child’s oral health in foreign-born populations.