Relationship between mothers’ gingival condition and caries experience of their 3‐year‐old children

Objectives. The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between mothers’ gingival condition (an assumed indicator of their self-care level) and the prevalence and severity of dental caries of their children. Sample and Methods. Subjects comprised 1471 pairs of mothers and their children who attended for the 3-year-old dental check-up at a community health centre in Hiroshima. The mothers’ gingival condition was scored as ‘excellent (+2)’, ‘good (+1)’, ‘questionable (0)’, ‘poor (−1)’ or ‘very poor (−2)’ according to the criteria of the Oral Rating Index (ORI). Caries experience of the children was recorded using the WHO caries diagnostic criteria for dmft. Results. The percentage of caries-free children was 51·3%, and the mean dmft score was 2·61. The percentages of caries-free were higher and the mean dmft level were lower in the children of mothers with better gingival condition compared to the children of mothers with worse gingival condition. Conclusions. Mothers’ gingival condition was associated with the prevalence and severity of dental caries of their children.