Table 3 Selected articles

Alsharif et al. (2014)

Western Australia

To understand the differences in dental insurance cover amongst hospitalised Western Australian children aged 0–15 years, and associated influencing factors

43, 937 WA children aged 0–15 years, hospitalised for an oral-health related condition

Quantitative- data collected from WA Hospital Morbidity Dataset from 1999 to 2009

These finding suggest there are other factors other than the cost of dental care, that prevent parents from accessing oral health treatment for their child. Therefore, health promotion is essential in educating parents of the importance of utilising the scheme

Gussy et al. (2016)

Victoria

Identify the ‘natural history’ of dental caries amongst children aged 0–3 years, including risk and protective factors that influence ECC

Birth cohort study that followed 467 mothers and children at age 1, 6, 12, 18, and 36 months

Longitudinal study

Quantitative—surveys and oral examinations

Of the 268 children that had a dental assessment at 18 and 36 months- 8% of these children experienced decay, which increased to 23% of children at 36 months

The period between age 18–40 months may be a significant period for the development of dental caries, and the following 18 months a period when this may manifest

Soft drink (but not fruit juice) consumption was associated with lesion development, likely due to the highly acidic nature of carbonated drinks

Kilpatrick, et al. (2012)

Australia-wide

Determine differences between parents reported oral health behaviours for Australian children aged 2–3 and 6–7 years

Examine indicators of social disadvantage that may affect oral health (e.g. low SEP)

Identify patterns of oral health inequalities between the two age groups

4606 children aged 2–3 years

4464 children aged 6–7 years

Cross-sectional data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)

Descriptive, mixed-method, two-stage approach

Interviews and a questionnaire with the child’s primary caregiver

Children aged 2 to 3 years were less likely than older children (aged 6–7 years) to brush their teeth twice a day (44% compared to 61%) and to have attended a dental health service in the last 12 months (15% compared to 59%)

Only 3% of younger children had parent-reported caries, compared to 67% in the older children

The most socially disadvantaged were associated with higher odds of caries, infrequent toothbrushing and non-use of dental services

Lucas et al. (2011)

Australia-wide

To establish differences in child oral health outcomes and behaviours across Australian states and territories, using the cross-sectional data from the LSAC

As Kilpatrick et al

As Kilpatrick et al

Almost 90% of Western Australian children aged 2–3 years had not accessed dental services, 3 times higher than children in ACT. More than half the WA children (54%) did not brush teeth twice a day and 3% experienced dental caries

In the older WA children (aged 6–7 years), access to dental services had increased to 33.3%, brushing teeth twice a day to 30.6%, but dental caries had also increased to 35.5%

Interstate differences may be influenced by variations in state-based oral health services and promotion activities

Putri et al. (2020)

Australia-wide

To analyse patterns of dental visits under the Child Dental Benefit Schedule (CDBS), the cost of the schedule and utilisation in the first two years of implementation

This study included 678,000 eligible children for CDBS in 2014 and 567,000 eligible children in the following year

Retrospective descriptive analyses- data from Medicare between 2014 and 2015

Eligible children aged 2–4 years utilised CDBS the least

WA children had the lowest utilisation per eligible child for preventative services under the CDBS in 2014–2015. However, WA children had higher utilisation of the School Dental Service compared to other states

Rogers et al. (2018)

Victoria

To identify the association between rates of oral health hospitalization amongst Victorian Australian children aged 0–4 years and community water fluoridation access, availability of oral health professionals and SES

1297 potentially preventable dental hospitalisations amongst 318,997 children aged 0–4 years living in Victoria, Australia

Cross-sectional-quantitative

Children living in areas with limited access to oral health professionals had 65% higher rates of dental hospitalisation

Children from families of low SES had 57% higher rates of dental hospitalisations

Children living in areas without water fluoridation were on average 59% higher rates of dental hospitalisations

90% of children were hospitalised because of preventable dental caries

Stormon et al. (2019)

Australia-wide

Investigate community-level constructs (e.g. social, physical and community oral health environment) affecting the oral health of children aged 0 to 4 years

10,090 children from the LSAC study

Cross-sectional data from children that participated in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC)—quantitative

Used Fisher-Owens et al. (2007) conceptual model to guide the investigation of community level predictors of oral health

Children that were more likely to have caries and dental injury were from low socioeconomic areas, low water fluoridation areas and living in neighbourhoods with poor liveability/facilities

Queensland and Western Australia were the states that had the highest odds of children having dental injury at age 4 years

Virgo-Milton et al. (2016)

Victoria

Mother’s perceptions, beliefs and behaviours towards child oral health

32 mothers of children aged 4–12 months

Qualitative approach to explore the barriers to promoting children’s oral health—interviews

Themes: meaning of oral health; Causes of poor child oral health (unclear understanding of risk factors); Influences on their child’s oral health (beliefs, parents own experiences, time, child behaviour); Strategies to overcome barriers to poor oral health (toothbrushing, oral health care); Sources of oral health advice (dental professionals, child health nurses, grandparents)