Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39661799›Full record

ArticleBrazilian oral research2024

Socioeconomic inequalities in early childhood caries: evidence from vulnerable populations in Colombia.

Stefania Martignon, Carol C Guarnizo-Herreño, Angela Maria Franco-Cortés, Lina Maria García-Zapata, Emilia Maria Ochoa-Acosta, Luis Fernando Restrepo-Pérez, Maria Cristina Arango, María Del Pilar Cerezo, Andrea Cortes

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Brazilian oral research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Evolution of income inequalities in the caries experience of 5-year-old children in Brazil between 2010 and 2023.Revista brasileira de epidemiologia = Brazilian journal of epidemiology · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. SmilebrightMethods and protocols · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Stefania MartignonUniversidad El Bosque, Caries Research Unit - Unica, Research Department, Bogotá, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6505-8356
Carol C Guarnizo-HerreñoUniversidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Odontología, Departamento de Salud Colectiva, Bogotá, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8781-2671
Angela Maria Franco-CortésUniversidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Odontología, Medellín, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8579-058X
Lina Maria García-ZapataUniversidad del Valle, Facultad de Salud, Escuela de Odontología, Cali, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3371-9447
Emilia Maria Ochoa-AcostaUniversidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Odontología, Medellín, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6765-5712
Luis Fernando Restrepo-PérezUniversidad El Bosque, Facultad de Odontología, Bogotá, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7235-2799
Maria Cristina ArangoUniversidad del Valle, Facultad de Salud, Escuela de Odontología, Cali, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9015-430X
María Del Pilar CerezoUniversidad Autonoma de Manizales, Programa de Odontología, Manizales, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3488-9026
Andrea CortesUniversidad El Bosque, Caries Research Unit - Unica, Research Department, Bogotá, Colombia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6472-8330

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Colombian Chapter of the Alliance-for-a-Cavity-Free-Future (Col-ACFF) has been conducting a health promotion and caries prevention program among young children in four vulnerable Colombian municipalities (baseline data from 2012-2014). This study aimed to quantify socioeconomic inequalities in early childhood caries (ECC) and examine the potential role of daily fluoride-toothpaste use, previous-year dental-care visit, and nutrition/diet-related aspects. The study sample included 1344 children aged 1-5 years. Inequalities in the age-standardized prevalence rates of and mean number of tooth surfaces affected by moderate/extensive (dME) and initial (dIME) caries (defined using the ICDAS-merged-epi criteria) by household income and level of education were examined using the relative index of inequality (RII) and the slope index of inequality (SII). Approximately one-third of the children included in this study exhibited dME, while 84% exhibited dIME. The majority of outcomes exhibited social gradients, and significant relative (RII) and absolute (SII) inequalities in ECC were observed. The SII estimate indicated an absolute difference of 12.4% in the prevalence of moderate/extensive carious lesions among children living in households with the lowest compared to the highest education levels [SII: 12.4; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.7-22.1]. These children were also 6.7 times more likely to exhibit dIME compared to those living in households with higher levels of education (SII:6.73 95% CI: 4.18-9.29). Daily use of fluoride toothpastes, dental care visits in the previous year, and nutrition/diet-related factors played a limited role in ECC inequalities. In conclusion, significant ECC inequalities were observed in these vulnerable populations, highlighting the importance of upstream and downstream interventions that raise awareness among stakeholders and improve community- and individual-based practices to address this.

Indexed as

Dental CariesSocioeconomic FactorsVulnerable PopulationsChild, PreschoolColombiaDMF IndexEducational StatusFemaleFluoridesHealth Status DisparitiesHumansInfantMalePrevalenceToothpastesFluoridesToothpastes

Identifiers

PMID39661799
PMCPMC11654886

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.