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Perceptions of Women, Child and Adolescents' Oral Health

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Global Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2025) | Viewed by 4360

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Guest Editor
Post-Graduate Programme in Adult Health (PPGSAD), Post-Graduate Programme in Dentistry (PPGO), Federal University of Maranhão, São Luis 65080-805, Brazil
Interests: women's dental health; maternal dental health; periodontics; dental epidemiology; oral health; pregnant women

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout a woman’s life, several female characteristics that involve health and disease can affect oral health. The hormonal variations that occur during a woman’s life not only interfere with her reproductive system but also influence her oral condition. Maternal oral conditions also affect their children’s oral health. Oral health comprises the teeth, periodontium, soft tissues of the mouth and oral pharynx, bones around the mouth, temporomandibular joints, and muscles of mastication. The mouth is a gateway to the body and it is a reservoir of many pathogens, which will reflect many systemic health problems.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on maternal, newborn, child and adolescent oral health. Special attention will be given to manuscripts about women in the maternal, postpartum, and non-pregnancy periods, focusing on studies on the mother–child binomial, including periods from childhood to adolescence. Thus, new research papers, reviews, case reports, and review articles are welcome for this Special Issue. Manuscripts from different approaches will also be accepted, including epidemiology studies, clinical and intervention studies, risk assessment studies, and health impact analyses.

Dr. Fernanda Ferreira Lopes
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • oral health
  • women's health
  • mother–child interactions
  • child health
  • adolescent health
  • oral medicine
  • periodontal diseases
  • tooth diseases
  • mouth diseases

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 856 KiB  
Article
Nationwide Spatial Patterns and Maternal and Birth-Related Factors Associated with Orofacial Clefts in Brazil
by Luis Gustavo Souza Santos, Vandilson Rodrigues, Jessilene Ribeiro Rocha, Mila Roselaine Lima de Assunção, Marcio Vinícius Campos Borges and Maria Carmen Fontoura Nogueira da Cruz
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(7), 995; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22070995 - 24 Jun 2025
Viewed by 489
Abstract
This study aimed to identify spatial clustering and maternal and birth-related factors associated with the incidence of orofacial clefts in Brazil from 2001 to 2022. A nationwide ecological study was conducted in Brazil using data from 2001 to 2022 obtained from the Brazilian [...] Read more.
This study aimed to identify spatial clustering and maternal and birth-related factors associated with the incidence of orofacial clefts in Brazil from 2001 to 2022. A nationwide ecological study was conducted in Brazil using data from 2001 to 2022 obtained from the Brazilian Live Birth Information System (SINASC). The municipality was used as the spatial unit of analysis. Variables included maternal age and education, newborn sex, gestational age, birth weight, and skin color/ethnicity. Univariate and bivariate global and local Moran’s I indices were used to assess spatial autocorrelation. A total of 234 municipalities (4.2%) formed high–high spatial clusters, primarily in the South and Southeast, while 431 municipalities (7.7%) formed low–low clusters, mostly in the Northeast (Moran’s I = 0.121, 95% CI: 0.107 to 0.135). High–high clusters had a lower median proportion of adolescent mothers (≤19 years: 17.4%) and a higher proportion of mothers aged ≥ 35 years (12.9%) compared to low–low clusters (23.5% and 8.7%, respectively; p < 0.001). High–high clusters also had fewer mothers with less than seven years of education (31.0% vs. 45.9%, p < 0.001) and higher rates of preterm births and low birth weight (p < 0.001). The proportion of White newborns was higher in high–high clusters than in low–low clusters (82.8% vs. 13.6%, p < 0.001). These findings suggest that orofacial cleft incidence in Brazil is spatially associated with maternal sociodemographic characteristics, perinatal outcomes, and newborn race/ethnicity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Women, Child and Adolescents' Oral Health)
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12 pages, 265 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Maternal Information Sources on Infant Oral Hygiene Practices for Six-Month-Olds in South Australia: A Cross-Sectional Study
by Meng-Wong Taing, Wanrong Li, Loc G. Do and Diep H. Ha
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(6), 826; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22060826 - 23 May 2025
Viewed by 648
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the association between the different information sources on infant oral hygiene accessed by mothers and infant oral hygiene practices in South Australia. Information on the oral hygiene practices used in 6-month-old infants—gum/tooth cleaning in the past 3 months, [...] Read more.
This study aimed to investigate the association between the different information sources on infant oral hygiene accessed by mothers and infant oral hygiene practices in South Australia. Information on the oral hygiene practices used in 6-month-old infants—gum/tooth cleaning in the past 3 months, frequency of brushing, and the usage of fluoridated toothpaste—were acquired from the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events Affecting Oral Health (SMILE) cohort survey. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression modelling were used to analyse the relationship between the information sources and infant oral hygiene practices. The majority of mothers (60.4%) reported not having cleaned their 6-month-old’s gums/teeth in the past 3 months. One-third of mothers with 6-month-olds did not seek information on infant oral hygiene. Mothers who sought advice from dentists were more likely to have cleaned their infant’s gums/teeth in the past 3 months, and those with infants whose teeth had erupted were also more likely to clean their infants’ teeth twice or more daily. We can conclude that mothers who sought information on infant oral hygiene from more than one source adopted generally better oral hygiene practices for their infants, with a dentist’s advice notably increasing the likelihood of mothers following the guidelines for cleaning their infants’ teeth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Women, Child and Adolescents' Oral Health)
11 pages, 740 KiB  
Article
Comparative Study on the Periodontal Parameters Used in Diagnosing Periodontitis in Puerperae and Periodontitis’ Relationship with the Birth of Preterm Infants: A Case-Control Study
by Nayra Rodrigues de Vasconcelos Calixto, Fernanda Ferreira Lopes, Marcela Mayana Pereira Franco, Isaac Suzart Gomes-Filho, Bruno Braga Benatti and Cláudia Maria Coêlho Alves
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(2), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21020156 - 30 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2460
Abstract
To compare different criteria for the diagnosis of periodontitis and to evaluate the association of this condition with prematurity, this case-control study was conducted on 283 mothers of infants, divided into two groups based on gestational age (cases: <37 weeks, controls: ≥37 weeks), [...] Read more.
To compare different criteria for the diagnosis of periodontitis and to evaluate the association of this condition with prematurity, this case-control study was conducted on 283 mothers of infants, divided into two groups based on gestational age (cases: <37 weeks, controls: ≥37 weeks), with 71 cases and 212 controls. The periodontal evaluation included probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), plaque index, and bleeding on probing (BOP). Participants were classified regarding periodontitis per 14 criteria based on different periodontal parameters. The criterion selected as the gold standard was the presence of at least four teeth with one or more sites with a PD ≥ 4 mm, CAL ≥ 3 mm, and BOP at the same site. The prevalence of periodontal disease ranged from 8.1% to 55.1%. Moreover, compared to the gold standard, the sensitivities of the other criteria were 100%, while specificity ranged from 50.4% to 96.4%. Periodontitis, defined by six of the selected criteria, was associated with prematurity after multivariate adjustment, with OR ranging from 1.85 to 2.69 and 95% CI from 1.01 to 5.56; one of them was the gold standard mentioned above. Measurements using the clinical parameters of PD, CAL, and bleeding at the same site (criteria 5, 6, 7, 8), CPI (criterion 10), and at least four teeth with a PD ≥ 4 mm and CAL ≥ 3 mm (criterion 11) to define periodontitis showed a statistically significant association (p < 0.05). Given this study’s limitations, we can conclude that the diagnostic criteria for a periodontitis definition using a PD ≥ 4 mm and CAL ≥ 3 mm in two or more teeth, with BOP at the same site, seem stronger when detecting an association between periodontitis and prematurity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Perceptions of Women, Child and Adolescents' Oral Health)
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