A strong body of research shows that various factors, including socioeconomic status, influence oral health conditions. This makes it critical for policymakers to implement preventive measures, such as dental services integration into schools and educational programs.
Despite advances in prevention, dental caries remains one of the world’s most prevalent diseases, and its impact is felt throughout the lifespan. System-level changes could reduce inequities among all children, such as greater access to affordable dental care and integration of oral health practices into schools and education programs.
Environment
Oral health affects a person’s ability to eat, speak, sleep, play, and socialize. It also relates to their overall quality of life, as it is linked with other factors that impact their well-being, such as physical and psychosocial function.
Their environments highly influence children’s oral health. Environmental factors can include air quality, food availability, and the cost of dental care. Moreover, a child’s socioeconomic status can also impact their oral health, as children in higher socioeconomic positions tend to have better access to dental services and fluoride toothpaste.
Although many studies have investigated the role of the environment in modifying the developing oral microbiome, past approaches have yet to encompass all early life exposures and analyze the whole exposome (a complex mixture of multiple chemicals). New methods are required that assess the fetal and early postnatal exposome through direct measurements of the chemical composition of the oral microbiome and its metabolome and integrate these data with high dimensional tooth analysis.
Habits
Some habits can have an impact on a child’s oral health. One of the most common is thumb sucking, which can lead to severe dental problems later in life. Parents can encourage their children to develop good oral hygiene habits early to avoid these damaging habits. A sleep and breathing treatment for children Los Angeles, CA can also improve their dental health and overall quality of life.
Biting fingernails is another bad habit that can lead to tooth chipping or cracking. It can also increase the risk of bruxism, which can cause jaw pain and other serious issues.
Other bad habits include drinking a lot of sugary or acidic drinks. These habits can harm your child’s teeth and gums because they feed the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
Genetics
Genetics is the study of how genes (sequences of DNA) and heredity (the way traits are passed from parents to children) interact. It also involves genetics to understand how people get diseases and how they respond to treatment.
A gene is a DNA segment containing instructions for building one or more molecules that help the body work. DNA is shaped like a corkscrew-twisted ladder, with the two ladder rails called backbones and the rungs being pairs of four building blocks (adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine) called bases.
Societal
Several social factors influence children’s oral health, ranging from socioeconomic status to cultural beliefs and values. They may also include a person’s lifestyle, buying habits, education, religion, sexuality, and attitudes.
Socioeconomic status refers to an individual’s income level and the social position they occupy in society. It can affect their behaviors, access to healthcare, and education.
Family environment is another important factor that can affect a child’s oral health, as well as their diet and habits. Studies show that people with lower socioeconomic status are more likely to suffer from dental caries and periodontal diseases than those in higher economic positions.
Despite many socioeconomic determinants, little is known about how these factors impact a child’s oral health. Research on this topic is needed to understand the relationship between oral health and social factors and provide evidence for policymakers to address issues related to oral health.