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Paediatric dentistry

Passive smoking and early childhood caries: when adult addiction affects children’s oral health

Evidence-Based Dentistry volume 25, pages 49–50 (2024)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Data sources

Medline via EBSCOhost, PubMed, and Scopus up to February 2023.

Study selection

Observational studies in the English language published in peer-reviewed journals, encompassing children aged 0 to 6 years exposed to environmental tobacco smoke and passive smoking, with a focus on oral health conditions in deciduous dentition.

Data extraction and synthesis

Data were extracted from 25 papers, encompassing study details, oral health, and smoking exposure. Confounding factors such as parental education, income, diet, fluoride exposure, gender, and oral hygiene practices were also identified. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Frequency effect size was calculated for health variables and smoking exposure.

Results

Most studies identified a correlation between passive smoking and an increased prevalence of dental caries. Environmental tobacco smoke exposure and dental caries risk were influenced by factors such as low parental education, socioeconomic status, dietary habits, oral hygiene, and gender.

Conclusions

The results of this systematic review strongly indicate a significant association between dental caries in deciduous dentition and passive smoking.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Child and Adolescent Oral Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Luna Chagas Clementino, Juliana Freire-Maia, Túlio Silva Pereira & Paulo Antônio Martins-Júnior

Authors
  1. Luna Chagas Clementino
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  2. Juliana Freire-Maia
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  3. Túlio Silva Pereira
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  4. Paulo Antônio Martins-Júnior
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paulo Antônio Martins-Júnior.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Clementino, L.C., Freire-Maia, J., Pereira, T.S. et al. Passive smoking and early childhood caries: when adult addiction affects children’s oral health. Evid Based Dent 25, 49–50 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-024-00980-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41432-024-00980-1

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