Poverty Dynamics and Caries Status in Young Adolescents

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Pediatric Dentistry

Background:

• Socioeconomic status is a known determinant of health outcomes.
• The impact of poverty's timing and duration on adolescent dental health requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the association between poverty timing, accumulation, and trajectories and dental caries in young adolescents.
• To apply lifecourse theories to understand the relationship between socioeconomic status and oral health.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Generation R Study, a prospective cohort of 2653 children in the Netherlands.
• Assessed poverty through household income and composition from pregnancy to 13 years.
• Measured dental caries using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth index at age 13, analyzed with Hurdle Negative Binomial Models and Latent Class Growth Analysis (LCGA) for poverty trajectories.

Main Results:

• Poverty at birth and intermittent poverty were significantly linked to higher odds of dental caries and an increased mean number of decayed teeth.
• LCGA identified four poverty trajectories, all associated with dental caries.
• The 'downward mobility' poverty trajectory demonstrated the strongest association with dental caries and a higher mean number of decayed teeth.

Conclusions:

• Early-life and persistent poverty, as well as downward socioeconomic mobility, are associated with increased dental caries in adolescents.
• Lifecourse models highlight the influence of socioeconomic factors on adolescent oral health.
• Policy interventions aimed at improving socioeconomic conditions for deprived children are recommended to mitigate dental caries.