Childhood caries management in the European Union: A cross-sectional study

Zsuzsa Bencze; Gabriella Kovalecz; Sándor Márton; Tibor Gáll; Nour Mahrouseh; Orsolya Varga

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06198

Childhood caries management in the European Union: A cross-sectional study

Heliyon. 2021 Feb 11;7(2):e06198. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06198. eCollection 2021 Feb.

Authors

Zsuzsa Bencze¹, Gabriella Kovalecz², Sándor Márton³, Tibor Gáll¹, Nour Mahrouseh¹, Orsolya Varga¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Hungary.
² Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Debrecen, Hungary.
³ Department of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Debrecen, Hungary.

Abstract

Objectives: Dental caries is one of the most widespread childhood diseases worldwide, although it is largely preventable. In Europe, there is an observable difference between caries prevalence in Eastern and Western European states. This study aimed to gather data on the characteristics of publicly financed dental preventive services for children in European Union (EU) member states.

Methods: Data on important indicators were collected through an online survey. National and international professional bodies specializing in pediatric dentistry and dental services were invited to participate in the study. Descriptive statistics and information gain were applied in the analysis to identify the strongest indicators of the availability and content of childhood caries services. Additionally, the reimbursement characteristics were examined.

Results: We received responses from 27 EU member states. The accessibility and assessment of dental preventive services among the member states vary notably. The frequency of screenings and the screened age groups differ by country and free screenings for preschool children are not common. Monitoring systems were present in only 37% of the responding countries, but brief dental interventions are available to promote caries prevention in 25 of the 27 countries. However, these interventions are mainly focused on basic oral health education. Regarding the reimbursement characteristics, we found that the amount of reimbursement is larger for higher-cost treatments targeting already developed caries than for cost-effective preventive treatments, which are less likely publicly financed.

Conclusions: The prevention of dental caries is part of oral health promotion and education efforts in the EU; unlike the treatment of already developed dental caries, the accessibility of clinical prevention services is limited and usually not free for children. Further comprehensive studies are necessary to identify key indicators for international assessment and facilitate the standardization of the screening process, thus promoting the collection of comparable data.

Keywords: Caries prevention; Childhood caries; Dental public health; Dentistry; Health policy; Health sciences; Public health.