Other
Brianna C. Vandervoort, DDS
Pediatric Dental Resident
St. Barnabas Hospital
St. Barnabas Hospital
New York City, New York, United States
Paul Chu, DDS
Program Director
St. Barnabas Hospital
Bronx, New York, United States
Christopher Lane, DDS
St. Barnabas Hospital
Paul Chu, DDS
Program Director
St. Barnabas Hospital
Bronx, New York, United States
Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine whether a parent’s practice of reading a nutrition label and their ability to analyze and interpret it affect their child’s oral health measure in Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (dfmt) score and Plaque Index (PI) score.
Methods: Seventy-five children ranging from the ages 2-17 were examined clinically and radiographically to calculate the dfmt and PI scores. Simultaneously, their parents filled out a questionnaire regarding their use and knowledge of nutrition labels as well as completed a quiz testing their ability to read and interpret a nutrition label. The childrens’ dfmt and PI scores were compared to their parents’ responses on the questionnaire and quiz.
Results: While results have not been finalized nor has statistical analysis been completed, the results are trending towards an inverse relationship between a parent’s nutritional literacy and their child’s dmft and PI score.
Conclusion: The results of this study are pending data analysis but trends appear to show that the higher a parent’s nutritional literacy, the better their child’s oral health.