Brill Jonathan, Vinograd Adi, Hermesh Barak, Sheffer Rivka, Mor Zohar
Department of Family Medicine, Meuhedet Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Int J Equity Health. 2025 Jan 20;24(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s12939-025-02383-9.
Disparities in oral health are related to dental care knowledge, domestic oral hygiene practices and socioeconomic status. This cross-sectional study aimed to compare the oral hygiene and dental care practices of migrant, Arab, and Jewish children residing in Tel Aviv, Israel, and assess the influence of parental dental practices.
Data were collected from parents of children aged 3 to 6 years. Parents completed their own and their children's oral health status, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and dental care knowledge.
Of the 504 children, 153 (30.4%) were migrants, 117 (23.2%) were Arabs, and 234 (46.4%) were Jews. Twice-daily tooth brushing was reported by 57.5% of migrant children, 47% of Arab children, and 63.7% of Jewish children (p = 0.001). Compared with Arab and Jewish children, migrant children had higher rates of tooth filling and urgent dental interventions under general anesthesia (22.9%, 11.1%, and 9%, respectively; p < 0.001). The parent‒child association for twice-daily tooth brushing was strong overall (69.8%), particularly among migrants (70.9%) and Jews (72.3%), but weaker among Arabs (63.0%), p < 0.01.
Migrant children exhibited better tooth brushing habits than Arab children did but required more urgent dental interventions, highlighting gaps in preventive care. The strong parent‒child link in oral hygiene, particularly among migrants and Jews, suggests that culturally sensitive, family-focused interventions could help reduce these disparities and improve dental health outcomes for underserved populations.
口腔健康差异与牙齿护理知识、家庭口腔卫生习惯及社会经济地位有关。这项横断面研究旨在比较居住在以色列特拉维夫的移民、阿拉伯和犹太儿童的口腔卫生及牙齿护理习惯，并评估父母牙齿护理习惯的影响。
收集了3至6岁儿童父母的数据。父母填写了自己及孩子的口腔健康状况、口腔卫生习惯、饮食习惯和牙齿护理知识。
在504名儿童中，153名（30.4%）是移民，117名（23.2%）是阿拉伯人，234名（46.4%）是犹太人。据报告，57.5%的移民儿童、47%的阿拉伯儿童和63.7%的犹太儿童每天刷牙两次（p = 0.001）。与阿拉伯和犹太儿童相比，移民儿童的补牙率和全身麻醉下紧急牙齿干预率更高（分别为22.9%、11.1%和9%；p < 0.001）。总体而言，亲子每天刷牙两次的关联度较高（69.8%），尤其是在移民（70.9%）和犹太人（72.3%）中，但在阿拉伯人（63.0%）中较弱，p < 0.01。
移民儿童的刷牙习惯比阿拉伯儿童更好，但需要更多紧急牙齿干预，这凸显了预防保健方面的差距。口腔卫生方面强大的亲子联系，尤其是在移民和犹太人中，表明具有文化敏感性、以家庭为重点的干预措施有助于减少这些差异，并改善弱势群体的牙齿健康状况。
