S
upporting
Y
our
P
ractice
Use ofDental Services forChildren
A smaller proportionof childrenof newcomer familieshave
regular dental visits comparedwithnon-newcomers.
4,13,24,
26-28,36-39
Inaddition, newcomer childrenaremost likely tovisit
adentist for emergenciesorwhen inpain.
26,28,31,36-38
It seems that parental education remains apredictor of
dental careutilization. A studyamongChileannewcomer
families inMontreal shows that childrenof parentswith
auniversityeducationare twiceas likely tovisit adentist
comparedwithchildrenof parentswithout higher
education.
30
LimitedEnglishproficiencyhas alsobeen shown tohinder
access todental care for childrenof newcomer families.
12,13
Barriers toAppropriateOralHealth for
NewcomerChildren
Risk factors reported toact asbarriers toachievingand
maintainingadequateoral health for childrenof newcomers
weregrouped into3 levels: child, familyandcommunity.
➙
Child level (oralhygienepractices):
Childrenof newcomers
and foreign-bornparentsdiffer fromnon-newcomers in
their oral hygienepractices; toothbrushingor flossing isnot
carriedout regularly (or at all),
14,37,40
nor are thesepractices
valuedby thechildrenor their parents.
12
➙
Family level (parentingpractices,oralhealth
perceptions):
Ahigher percentageof foreign-bornmothers
of 19-month-old infants inAlberta reported theuseof
nursingbottles comparedwithCanadian-bornmothers
(85%vs. 62%).
35
➙
Community level (dental insurance,dental care
provider):
Newcomer populations aremore likely tobe
uninsured
18,22,24,26,34
andmore likely to relyonlyon
publichealth insuranceor no insuranceat all.
22
Interventions forNewcomerChildren
Three studies
3,8,19
explored interventionprogramsdeveloped
to improve theoral health statusof newcomer children; 2of
them targetedparents and theother targetedchildren.
➙
Programs forparents:
Aneducational programamong20
newcomer Latinoparentsof low socioeconomic statuswas
successful in improving the knowledgeof 10participants;
however, only5 showedan improvement in reported
behaviour.
8
Inahealthpromotionprogram inVancouver,
BritishColumbia, designed toeducateVietnamesemothers
of preschool childrenwithextensive toothdecay,mothers
whohadmore than1counseling session reported significant
reductions in theuseof anursingbottle for their children
duringboth sleep timeandday time.
19
➙
Programs forchildren:
Ina school-basedprogram, dental
servicesprovided for newcomer and impoverishedchildren
were successful in reducing theneed for restorativecare in
the secondyear of its implementation.
2
Discussion
This scoping reviewaimed toprovideabetter understanding
of theoral healthof newcomer children inNorthAmerica.
Althoughvariousoral health strategies, including increased
accessibilityand somepublicly fundeddental services
(usually for emergencycare) are inplace for children from
low-income familiesor thoseon social assistance,
41
many
Canadians still donot haveeasyor affordableaccess to
dental health services.
Acase inpoint is theproposedcuts todental benefits for
newcomers toCanadaunder the InterimFederal Health
Program.
9
The limitations andproblemswith thisprogram,
for bothproviders andnewcomer patients, havebeen
outlined ina report byAminandcolleagues.
42
Regardlessof their birthplace,many studieshave shown
that childrenof newcomershaveworseoral health than
their non-newcomer counterparts.
5,16,37
Several barriers
playa role, suchas cost of regular dental care, insufficient
dental insurancecoverage, languageandparental beliefs
andpractices that put thechildrenat higher risk for dental
diseases.
26,36,37
HigherLevels ofCaries
Newcomer childrenhaveconsistentlybeen shown tohave
higher levelsof caries.
33
Amoredetailed studyof these
children isneeded to identifywhichgroup is in themajority:
Canadian-bornchildrenof newcomer parents, foreign-born
childrenwhohavebeen raised inCanadaor foreign-born
