Study of the relationship between family environmental factors and dental caries status in children

Objective To assess family environmental factors that impact caries in children during a follow ⁃ up study for family⁃based community oral health promotion models. Methods This study was conducted from June to De⁃ cember 2015. A total of 200 households were selected from Jinzhou community in Nanning with the random sampling method. The data were collected through oral examinations and questionnaire surveys of family members. A logistic re⁃ gression model was used to analyze the relationship between family environment factors, such as socioeconomic and fam⁃ ily⁃related behaviors, and caries in children. Results After adjustment for confounding factors, families in which more than 1, 000 mL of sugar drinks were purchased per month; those in which the family members had a low frequency of brushing (occasionally or not); those in which the mother had a high frequency of drinking sweet drinks (more than one time each day), brushed with low frequency (less than 2 times), had no regular oral examination in the past year, or had low scores in oral health attitude and knowledge; those in which the father/mother had a low level of education (short⁃cy⁃ cle courses and under); and those with a low annual household income (less than 50, 000 RMB) had children with high rates of dental caries. Families purchasing sugar drinks >1 000 mL per month were 2.22 times more likely than families purchasing sugar drinks ≤1 000 mL per month to have caries in children. Conclusion Family environmental factors exert a certain influence on children􀆳s caries, and this information is a useful reference for a follow⁃up study.