Migration background: a risk factor for caries development during adolescence

Julihn A, Ekbom A, Modéer T. Migration background: a risk factor for caries development during adolescence. Eur J Oral Sci 2010; 118: 618–625. © 2010 Eur J Oral Sci The influence of child and parental migration background on the risk of approximal caries increment in Swedish adolescents was investigated. This retrospective longitudinal register‐based cohort study included all 13‐yr‐old adolescents (n = 18,142) who were resident in the County of Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000, and followed them up to 19 yr of age. At follow‐up, 15,538 subjects were examined. Caries data [decayed, missing, and filled teeth/surfaces (DMFT/S)], were collected from a dental database. Socio‐demographic determinants were collected from Swedish National Registers. After adjustments for socio‐demographic confounders, logistic regression analysis revealed that adolescents with foreign‐born parents, irrespective of whether the child was born in Sweden or abroad, exhibited a significantly elevated risk for approximal caries increment (DMFSa > 0), and developed, on average, 0.53 and 1.14 more approximal caries lesions, respectively, compared with their counterparts with Swedish‐born parents. Furthermore, adolescents born in eastern Europe exhibited an increased risk for approximal caries increment (DMFSa > 0) and developed, on average, 1.06 more approximal caries lesions compared with Swedish‐born adolescents. In conclusion, parental migration background must be considered as a risk factor for caries development during adolescence, irrespective of whether or not the adolescent was born in Sweden.