The relationship between sweetness preference and dental caries in mother/child pairs from Maringá-Pr, Brazil
✍ Scribed by Dr. S. M. Maciel; W. Marcenes; R. G. Watt; A. Sheiham
- Book ID
- 102870535
- Publisher
- FDI World Dental Federation
- Year
- 2001
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 532 KB
- Volume
- 51
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0020-6539
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Aim:
Children's patterns of sugar consumption and dental health status have been associated to their mothers' patterns. as a liking for sweetness has been related to caries levels, this study was carried out to analyse the relationship between sweetness preference and caries experience in mother/child pairs.
Participants and methods:
A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of low socio-economic mothers and their 4-5-year-olds from maringá-pr, brazil. mothers' and children's preference for sugar was measured using the sweet preference inventory. their caries experience was assessed according to world health organization (who) guidelines.
Results:
High levels of sweetness preference and caries experience were found in the sample studied. although not strong, a significant correlation in patterns of sweetness preference (r=0.12, p<0.05) and caries experience (r=0.14, p<0.05) between mother/child pairs was identified. among the social-demographic variables, only family income was statistically associated with the children's preference for sweetness (p<0.05). no significant association between sweetness preference and caries experience could be established.
Conclusion:
The findings of this study suggest that mothers may play an important role on the establishment of their children dietary preferences and patterns of dental health. also, that the socio-economic status may influence children's preference for sugar.