Oral health and health related behaviours among three-year-old children born to first and second generation Pakistani mothers in Bradford, UK.

Abstract

Many young Muslim children whose families originated from the Indian sub-continent have poorer levels of oral health than their indigenous White peers, but it is unclear whether and to what extent subsequent generations may be similarly disadvantaged. This study aimed to compare dental health and associated behavioural attributes among United Kingdom-born three-year-old children of first and second generation Pakistani Muslim mothers resident in areas of social deprivation in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Multi-lingual interviews completed a home-based, semi-structured questionnaire, and a dental examination was conducted at a subsequent visit on 226 children, 117 with Pakistan-born mothers and 109 born in the UK. When the two generation groups were compared, no differences were observed in infant feeding practices, oral hygiene routines or dental attendance patterns, in mothers' attendance at ante-natal classes, or their knowledge of caries prevention. However, a higher proportion of UK-born mothers were able to speak English and reported that they had attended a dentist themselves, had received advice there, and were better informed of categories exempt from dental charges. A 24-hour retrospective qualitative dietary recall indicated that children of UK-born mothers consumed, on average, more frequent intakes of foods classified in the 'bread and cereal' group and of sweet drinks at meal times. While there were no significant differences in the proportion who were cavity free, children of UK-born mothers had higher mean caries experience (dmft=2.30) compared with those of Pakistan-born mothers (dmft=1.38). It was concluded that the total burden of dental caries experience among a subsequent generation of Pakistani children was higher than that of the previous generation. Poor dental health is likely to remain a challenge in this community for the foreseeable future.