Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41559277›Full record

ArticleEuropean archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry2026

Lifestyle behaviours can mediate socio-economic and sex inequalities in children's oral health: findings from Children's Dental Health Survey 2013, England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

K Zhou, A Najwa Mohd Khairuddin, J E Gallagher, M Ide, J Kang

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Article in European archives of paediatric dentistry : official journal of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

K ZhouFaculty of Dentistry, Oral, and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
A Najwa Mohd KhairuddinFaculty of Dentistry, Oral, and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
J E GallagherFaculty of Dentistry, Oral, and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
M IdeFaculty of Dentistry, Oral, and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
J KangFaculty of Dentistry, Oral, and Craniofacial Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom. J.Kang@kcl.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOral health inequalities in adults are well documented but understudied in children.

aimTo investigate oral health inequality amongst children within the United Kingdom (UK) by sex and socio-economic status (SES), and whether such inequality may be mediated by healthy lifestyle.

designSecondary analysis of the Children's Dental Health Survey 2013 data for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including questionnaire responses on demographics, lifestyle, and clinically examined oral health measures in children aged 5, 8, 12, and 15 years in the UK. Descriptive statistics on the oral health inequalities and mediation analyses were performed, assessing lifestyle factors (regular dental attendance, sugary drink intake, and toothbrushing frequency) that potentially mediate sex and SES inequalities in oral health.

resultsA total of 9,866 children were included in this study. Oral health inequalities were observed by sex and SES amongst all aspects of oral health (dental caries, oral health-related quality of life, self-reported oral health, gingival status, and basic periodontal examination). Compared with males (35.8%), fewer females (24.1%, p < 0.001) had self-reported good dental health. Children from lower SES groups had more dental caries experience, i.e., decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), than those from middle and higher SES groups (1.0 ± 2.0 in lower vs. 0.8 ± 1.9 in middle vs. 0.4 ± 1.3 in higher, p = 0.027). Furthermore, there was evidence of lifestyle factors mediating the associations between sex, SES, and adolescents' oral health at 12 and 15 years.

conclusionInequality was observed for children's oral health by sex and SES; however, regular dental attendance, having less sugary drink intake and optimal toothbrushing mediated these associations in adolescents.

Indexed as

Health Status DisparitiesLife StyleOral HealthAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolDental CariesDental Health SurveysFemaleHealth BehaviorHumansMaleNorthern IrelandSex FactorsSocial ClassSocioeconomic Disparities in HealthMediation analysisOral health behavioursOral health inequalitiesPaediatric preventive dentistry

Identifiers

PMID41559277
PMCPMC13331910

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