A team of scientists from Ohio State University has found that the more stressed parents are the more likely their children were to have tooth decay. The investigators presented their findings Friday at the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Miami.
The group examined the stress levels of parents whose young children either had no cavities or so many cavities that the children had to receive anesthesia before undergoing dental treatment. The team also looked at the education levels and incomes of the parents, and noted if they were single parents. In addition, the investigators measured the parents' stress levels again after the children had received dental treatment.
Not surprisingly, the researchers found that low income, having little education, and being a single parent led to increases in parental stress. They also discovered that treating a child's dental decay actually could decrease that stress.
Dental professionals need to be ready not only to repair childhood decay, but also to assist families in finding the help they need to decrease the stress of life, the IADR noted.
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