Objectives: To examine the association between dental clinical status and school performance and school attendance in the Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) using a life-course framework.
Methods: This time-ordered cross-sectional study included 466 school children in Grade 2 (aged 7-8 years) and their parents in the KoB. Data were collected through parents' self-administered questionnaires, children's face-to-face interviews and dental clinical examinations. Data on children's school performance and school attendance were gathered from parents and school records. Structural equation modelling (SEM) examined the direct and indirect pathways between variables.
Results: Children born in families with high socio-economic status (SES) were less likely to have dental caries and more likely to have better school performance at 7-8 years of age. Dentine caries was directly linked with poor school performance. Treated teeth directly predicted high school performance. The presence of dentine caries mediated the relationship of SES with school performance.
Conclusions: Birth and current socio-economic factors were significant predictors of dental clinical conditions and school performance. Dental caries and fewer treated teeth directly predicted poor school performance.
Keywords: dental caries; life course; oral health; school attendance; school performance; structural equational modelling.
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