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Objective: A conceptual model was designed and tested to predict immigrant children's oral health in Canada by examining parental acculturation and perceived social support (PSS) using structural equation modelling. Methods: A convenience sample of first‐generation immigrant parents and their children aged 2–12 years were recruited by multilingual community workers in Edmonton, Canada. Parents completed a validated questionnaire on demographics, child's oral health (OH) behaviours, parental acculturation and PSS. Dental examinations determined children's dental caries rate using DMFT/dmft index. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the data. Results: A total of 336 families participated in this study. The average parental acculturation level was 10.46 with a maximum of 15, and the average PSS was 63.27 with a maximum of 75. SEM showed that 77% of the variance of DMFT/dmft scores in children was explained by parental PSS, acculturation level, immigration‐related variables, socioeconomic variables and children's OH behaviours. The direct effect of parental PSS was associated with a significantly reduced rate of dental caries (β = −.076, p‐value =.008) and lower sugar consumption (β = −.17, p‐value =.04). While the mediation effect of parental acculturation on PSS was associated with positive OH behaviours of children (e.g., toothbrushing frequency and dental care utilization), the indirect effect was negatively associated with caries rate (β =.77, p‐value =.00). Conclusions: The direct effect of Parental Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was associated with more favourable oral health behaviours and a lower prevalence of dental caries, while the mediation effect of acculturation was linked to a higher prevalence of dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: After the shutdown of most dental services during the COVID‐19 lockdown, the oral health community was concerned about an increase in prescribing opioids and antibiotics by dentists due to patients' limited access to dental offices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the pattern of antibiotic and opioid prescriptions by dentists in Alberta, Canada. Methods: Data obtained from the Tracked Prescription Program were divided into antibiotics and opioids. Time periods were outlined as pre‐, during‐, and postlockdown (phase 1 and 2). For the number of prescriptions and average supply, each monthly average was compared to the corresponding prelockdown monthly average, using descriptive analysis. Time series analyses were conducted using regression analyses with an autoregressive error model. Data were trained and tested on monthly observations before lockdown and predicted for during‐ and postlockdown. Results: A total of 1.1 million antibiotics and 400,000 opioids dispense were tracked. Decreases in the number of prescriptions during lockdown presented for antibiotics (n = 24,933 vs. 18,884) and opioids (n = 8892 vs. 6051). Average supplies (days) for the antibiotics (n = 7.10 vs. 7.55) and opioids (n = 3.92 vs. 4.05) were higher during the lockdown period. In the trend analyses, the monthly number of antibiotic and opioid prescriptions showed the same pattern and decreased during lockdown. Conclusion: The COVID‐19 pandemic altered the trends of prescribing antibiotics and opioids by dentists. The full impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the population's oral health in light of changes in prescribing practices by dentists during and after lockdown warrants further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This cross‐sectional study aimed to examine the associations between parental acculturation level and strategies and children's caries experience and oral health (OH) behaviors. Methods: Participants were immigrant parents of children aged 2–12 years. Data were collected by validated questionnaires gathering information on socio‐demographics, child's OH behaviors, and parents'; acculturation and dental examinations determining child's caries experience using DMFT/dmft index. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used. Results: Three hundred and thirty‐six parent/child dyads completed the study. Length of residency (B = 0.103; 95% CI: 0.064, 0.141) parents' education (B = 1.691; 95% CI: 1.228, 2.155), and household income (B = −0.959; 95% CI: −1.566, −0.352) significantly predicted acculturation level. Parents with high Canadian cultural knowledge reported higher frequency of children's toothbrushing (p‐value = 0.015). Parents of children who consumed sugar >1/day had higher mean scores of acculturation to Canadian culture (p‐value = 0.016), English language proficiency (p‐value = 0.024), and Canadian food adoption (p‐value = 0.046). Parents of children who visited the dentist within last 12 months had significantly higher assimilation and lower separation mean scores. Parents of children who visited dentist because of dental problems had higher marginalization mean score than those who went for check‐ups (p‐value = 0.046). Parental acculturation was not significantly correlated with their children's dmft/DMFT level. Conclusions: Children of highly acculturated parents reported higher toothbrushing frequency and were more likely to consume sugar than children of less acculturated parents. Assimilated parents reported more and marginalized parents reported less favorable OH behaviors than other categories. Parental acculturation level or strategy was not associated with children's caries experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural competence is a combination of knowledge, awareness, and skills that dentists must acquire during their training in order to work with diverse populations. The aim of this study was to measure the perceived cultural competence of dental students in all four years at the University of Alberta in Canada. In 2018, a validated 17-item questionnaire-the Knowledge, Efficacy, and Practices Instrument for Oral Health Providers-was used to assess the students' perceived level of cultural competence on a scale from 1=lowest to 4=highest. Students were grouped into four cohorts (C1, C2, C3, C4) based on their level in the program. Newly admitted students (C1) were surveyed before they took any classes; first-year students were designated C2; second-year students were designated C3; and third- and fourth-year students were combined into C4. Of 160 students, 72% responded, and 102 eligible students (64%) were included in the analysis. The average age of participants was 24.6 years (SD=3.23), 56% were men, and 75% were born in Canada. White and East Asian were the most (48%) and second most (23%) prevalent race/ethnicity. The analysis showed a significant relationship between cohort groupings and determinant components for student classification. The overall mean scores by cohort were C1 2.50 (SD=0.81), C2 2.60 (SD=0.79), C3 2.81 (SD=0.69), and C4 3.04 (SD=0.80). The mean scores of C4 were significantly higher than the mean scores of the other cohorts (p=0.001). This study found that clinical-level students at the University of Alberta had significantly higher perceived cultural competence than those in the preclinical years, though the results also pointed to the need for increased training in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with special healthcare needs (SHCN) often require specialized interventions due to their disabilities. Dental general anesthesia (DGA) is a treatment modality, which improves their access to care but concerns about repeated DGAs persist., Aim: This study investigated DGA utilization in children with SHCN and identified factors associated with multiple DGAs in Alberta, Canada (2010-2020)., Design: This retrospective population-based study used administrative data encompassing all children (<18 years) undergoing DGA in publicly funded facilities. Children were identified as SHCN based on their diagnosis codes and categorized into behavioral/psychiatric disorders, mental/intellectual disabilities, physical disabilities, systemic conditions, syndromes/congenital anomalies, physical-mental disabilities, and disabilities with medical conditions., Results: This study analyzed 3884 DGA visits for children with SHCN, predominantly males aged 6-11 and from low-income families. Mental/intellectual disabilities were prevalent (31.8%), and autism was the leading disease. Caries was the primary dental diagnosis across all groups, whereas pulp problems were higher in psychiatric/behavioral disorders (23.6%), and periodontal problems were more common in physical-mental disabilities (13.2%). 28.7% had multiple DGAs, with younger age, disabilities with medical conditions, mental/intellectual disabilities, and initial pulp treatments, increasing the likelihood of multiple DGAs., Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of individualized prevention and less conservative treatments for younger children to reduce oral health disparities., (© 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry published by BSPD, IAPD and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)