ORCID

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Children and young people (CYP) in care experience poorer physical health and overall wellbeing in comparison to their peers. Despite this, relatively little is known about what their oral health needs and behaviours are. The aim of this scoping review was to provide a global perspective on the oral health status and behaviours of CYP in care and care leavers. It also aimed to synthesise interventions that have been trialled in this population to improve oral health.

METHODS: Five databases were searched, Ovid Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), SocINDEX (EBSCOhost) and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source (EBSCOhost), alongside grey literature sources up to January 2023. Eligibility criteria were studies that (i) reported on children and adolescents aged 25 years or younger who are currently in formal/informal foster or residential care and care leavers, (ii) pertained to oral health profile, behaviours or oral health promotion interventions (iii) and were published in the English language. Thematic analysis was used to develop the domains for oral health behaviours and interventions.

RESULTS: Seventy-one papers were included. Most papers were published from very high or medium Human Development Index countries. CYP in care were found to experience high levels of decay, dental trauma, periodontal disease and poorer oral health-related quality of life. Oral health behaviours included limited oral health self-care behaviours and a lack of oral health-based knowledge. The trialled interventions involved oral health education, supervised brushing and treatment or preventative dental care.

CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review reveals that CYP in care experience poorer oral health in comparison to their peers. They are also less likely to carry out oral health self-care behaviours. This review highlights a scarcity of interventions to improve the oral health of this population and a paucity of evidence surrounding the oral health needs of care leavers.

Publication Date

2024-02-09

Publication Title

Dentistry Journal

Volume

12

Issue

2

Acceptance Date

2024-01-29

Deposit Date

2024-11-12

Funding

This research was funded by The Borrow Foundation. The time of Nick Axford and Hannah Wheat was supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration South West Peninsula. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Institute for Health and Care Research or the Department of Health and Social Care. Joelle Booth, an Academic Clinical Fellow, was funded by Health Education England (HEE)/NIHR for this research project. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR, Queen Mary University of London, NHS or the UK Department of Health and Social Care.

Keywords

children looked after, children’s oral health, foster, global oral health, oral health knowledge, oral health related quality of life, oral health status, orphans, unaccompanied refugee asylum minors, vulnerable children

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