Are oral health conditions associated with children's school performance and school attendance in the Kingdom of Bahrain?
| Author | Mohamed, Seham | |
|---|---|---|
| metadata.dc.contributor.department | University of Sheffield, Dentistry and Society School of Clinical Dentistry, Unit of Oral Health | |
| metadata.dc.date.accessioned | 2026-09-20T15:54:06Z | |
| Publication date | 2022 | |
| Degree level | Doctoral | |
| Abstract | Abstract : Background: The link between oral health conditions (OHCs) and school performance and attendance remains unclear among Middle Eastern children. The association has been studied extensively in the Western region; however, several concerns have been raised regarding the reliability and validity of measures, low quality of studies, inadequate inclusion of potential confounders, and the lack of a conceptual framework. These limitations have meant that, to date, there has been no detailed understanding of the association or of the key social, clinical, behavioral, and parental factors which may impact the association. Aim: To examine the association between OHCs and children's school performance and school attendance at Grade 2 in Muharraq city in the Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) using Heilmann et al.'s (2015) life course framework for oral health (OH). Objectives: To (1) describe the prevalence of OHCs among 7-8 year old schoolchildren of the good, rated schools in the city of Muharraq; (2) analyze the social, biological, behavioral, and parental pathways that link early and current life exposures with children's current OHCs by testing the critical and accumulation life course models with consideration of social determinants of OHCs; (3) examine the association between OHCs and school performance and school attendance among schoolchildren, including the direct and indirect (mediated) pathways; (4) explore the early and current life course social, biological, behavioral, and parental factors associated with children's school outcomes in addition to OHCs Design: A time-ordered, cross-sectional study was conducted with 466 schoolchildren aged 7–8 years and their parents from Muharraq city in Kob. Data were collected through parents' self-administered questionnaires, children's face-to-face interviews, and dental clinical examinations. Outcome variables, including school performance and school attendance data, were obtained from the parents and school records. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: Dental caries, the consequence of dental caries (PUFA/pufa), and enamel developmental defects (EDD) prevalence were 93.4%, 25.7%, and 17.2%, respectively. The findings from the SEM showed that children born in families with high socioeconomic status (SES) were less likely to suffer from dentine dental caries (β = -0.248) and more likely to achieve high school performance (ẞ = 0.136) at 7–8 years of age in Muharraq From the perspective of children's current life course, dental plaque was significantly and directly associated with enamel caries (κ = 0.094), dentine caries (β = 0.364), and treated teeth (filled or extracted due to dental caries) (κ = 0.121), and indirectly associated with dental pain (κ = 0.057). Furthermore, dentine dental caries was significantly and directly associated with low academic performance (κ = -0.155). At the same time, dental plaque was indirectly associated with low academic performance via dental caries (β = -0.044). Conversely, treated teeth were directly associated with high academic performance (β = 0.100). In addition to occupational health characteristics (OHCs), parents' early and current socioeconomic status (SES) were significantly and indirectly associated with children's academic performance via parental characteristics (β = 0.457). Notably, none of the OHCs, biological factors, SES, behavioral factors, or parental conditions were related to school attendance in children. Conclusion: The life course approach was adequate to examine the role of OHCs on children's school performance and attendance. Birth and current (7-8 year olds) social factors were significant predictors of poor OH and poor school performance. Dental caries was associated with poor school performance but not with school attendance. Treated dental caries was associated with good school performance | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.other | Drupal node 4590 | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.other | https://digitalrepository.uob.edu.bh/en/dar/are-oral-health-conditions-associated-childrens-school-performance-and-school-attendance | |
| metadata.dc.identifier.uri | http://165.227.56.122/handle/123456789/7535 | |
| Language | en | |
| Link | https://digitalrepository.uob.edu.bh/en/_flysystem/fedora/2025-11/002339_are_oral_health_conditions_associated_with_childrens_school_performance_and_school_attendance_in_the_kingdom_of_bahrain.pdf | |
| Subject | Dentistry -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Subject | Mouth -- Care and hygiene -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Subject | Mouth Diseases -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Subject | Oral Health -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Subject | School students -- Mouth Diseases -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Subject | Youth -- Mouth Diseases -- Bahrain -- Dissertations | |
| Title | Are oral health conditions associated with children's school performance and school attendance in the Kingdom of Bahrain? | |
| Type | Doctoral Dissertation |
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