Maternal and Child Health Leadership Training Program, Department of Health Services, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2012 Apr;16 Suppl 1:S27-34. doi: 10.1007/s10995-012-0992-0.
This study examines associations between parents' report of their children's oral health and receipt of a dental visit for preventive care. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of oral health status and receipt of a preventive dental visit among US children and youth, ages 1-17 years, using data from the 2007 National Survey of Children's Health (n = 86,764). Survey-weighted logistic regression was used to estimate associations between perceived oral health status and receipt of a preventive dental health visit in the prior 12 months. Overall, 78 % of children and youth received at least one preventive dental health visit in the prior year. Among the youngest children, lower oral health status was associated with higher odds of receiving a preventive dental visit; among older children, lower oral health status was associated with lower odds of receiving a dental visit for preventive care. Use of preventive dental health care is below national target goals. Younger children in worse oral health are more likely, and older youth less likely, to receive preventive dental care. Public health efforts to educate parents to seek early and ongoing preventive oral health care, rather than services in response to problems, may yield oral health benefits later in childhood and over the life course.
本研究调查了父母对孩子口腔健康的报告与接受预防保健牙科就诊之间的关联。我们对美国 1-17 岁儿童和青少年的口腔健康状况和接受预防牙科就诊的情况进行了横断面分析，使用了 2007 年全国儿童健康调查的数据（n=86764）。使用调查加权逻辑回归来估计感知口腔健康状况与在过去 12 个月内接受预防牙科健康就诊之间的关联。总体而言，78%的儿童和青少年在过去一年中至少接受了一次预防牙科健康就诊。在年龄较小的儿童中，口腔健康状况较差与接受预防牙科就诊的几率较高相关；在年龄较大的儿童中，口腔健康状况较差与接受预防保健牙科就诊的几率较低相关。预防牙科保健的使用率低于国家目标。口腔健康状况较差的年龄较小的儿童更有可能接受预防牙科保健，而年龄较大的青少年则不太可能接受。通过开展公共卫生教育活动，使家长认识到及早和持续进行预防口腔保健的重要性，而不是在出现问题后才寻求服务，可能会在儿童期后期和整个生命周期中带来口腔健康方面的益处。
