Caries Preventive Interventions and Oral Health Inequalities: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Pediatric Dentistry
• Health Equity

Background:

• Dental caries is a prevalent, preventable childhood disease disproportionately affecting lower socioeconomic and ethnic minority groups.
• Reducing oral health inequalities requires effective preventive interventions for all children.
• The differential impact of oral health interventions across social groups remains largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify European public health interventions targeting dental caries in children.
• To analyze intervention effects on dental caries across diverse social and ethnic groups.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of four databases for studies on oral health interventions for children aged 0-12 years.
• Inclusion criteria required separate reporting of results for different social groups.
• Analysis of 14 studies (3 randomized, 11 non-randomized) primarily conducted in school settings.

Main Results:

• Six studies indicated a reduction in oral health inequalities.
• Four studies suggested a potential widening of oral health inequalities.
• Five studies showed no significant impact on oral health inequalities.

Conclusions:

• Interventions incorporating early, frequent, multi-level approaches, including policy, may reduce oral health inequalities.
• High-quality research is needed to evaluate oral health interventions separately for different socioeconomic and ethnic groups.
• Findings inform the development of targeted interventions to promote oral health equity in children.