Parental factors associated with routine dental visits in American children

Abstract

Background: Various factors have been associated with children with relatively low use of dental care. These include lower level of parents’ education, poor diet, smoking at home, lower household income, lack of dental insurance, living in a rural location, and cognitive impairment or disability. Goal: To further identify and characterize parental factors related with reduced use of routine dental visits in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. Methods: Analyses of the 2012 Marion County Health Department survey were undertaken using multilevel logistic regression to assess the effect of individual and community variables on the probability of children’s use of routine dental visits. Results: Children from parents with a higher level of education, who did not smoke in the home, and families who ate fast food less often in the preceding 7 days, were more likely to have a routine dental visit in the prior 12 months. Conclusions: This study further delineates the complex associations between parental level factors and one important aspect of children’s oral health.