Oral Health Needs Among Youth with a History of Foster Care: A Population-Based Study

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Am Dent Assoc
• Personal Author:
  Sarvas, Elise W. ; Eckerle, Judith K. ; Gustafson, Kimara L. ; Freese, Rebecca L. ; Shlafer, Rebecca J.
• Description:
  Background.
  
  Children and youth in foster care are considered to have special health care needs, including oral health needs. This study compares the self-identified oral health needs and access to dental care among youth who have and have not experienced foster care.
  
  Materials and Methods.
  
  Data were drawn from the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide survey of public-school students in fifth, eighth, ninth, and eleventh grades (N = 169,484). Youth with a history of foster care (3%) were compared to youth with no history of foster care on seven oral health indicators.
  
  Results.
  
  Youth with a history of foster care reported more oral health problems and less access to care compared to their peers with no experience of foster care. Using logistic regression controlling for key covariates, the odds of an oral health problem for youth with a history of foster care were 1.54 higher (95% CI: 1.44–1.65) than their peers.
  
  Conclusions.
  
  Youth with a history of foster care report more oral health problems than their peers. Dentists should recognize the oral health concerns of these individuals in the context of their special health care needs and be prepared to render appropriate care. Future studies should explore barriers to dental care among this vulnerable population.
  
  Practical Implications:
  
  Youth in foster care have self-identified oral health needs that should be assessed by dental professionals.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Child Foster Home Care Humans Minnesota Oral Health Schools Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Access To Dental Care Dental Care For Children Foster Care Foster Home Care Pediatric Dentistry
• Source:
  J Am Dent Assoc. 152(8):589-595
• Pubmed ID:
  34090662
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8324544
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  U48 DP005022/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U48DP005022/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; UL1 TR002494/TR/NCATS NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  152
• Issue:
  8
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:6f4b5dfe36badf51e99bae370b93f3e4abb606d0a1b1745014293429a9650363aa9effe18f856ebc7038074cf6f0247446d32389bd50b107eca70b19bb8c1ff6
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/175618/cdc_175618_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 67.32 KB ]