Feasibility of implementing a community-based oral health educational tool for newcomers in Alberta: perspectives of frontline community leaders

Abstract
Early childhood caries (ECC) is a severe form of tooth decay affecting the primary teeth of preschool children. Canadian surveys have found that children from disadvantaged groups, including recent immigrants, have higher rates of caries and lower rates of dental visits than Canadian-born children and tend to seek dental care for treatment reasons.Oral diseases disproportionally affect immigrant communities. For example, besides financial costs, African new immigrant families face additional barriers, including those related to language and cultural values, which leads to a lower rate of dental care uptake for their children. Therefore, there is a clear need to enhance prevention and treatment of oral diseases among recent immigrant children, especially those from communities with a higher prevalence of dental problems. Dental education for immigrant and refugee families can be accomplished through community leaders with experience in health promotion. These individuals have the potential to reach out to newcomer parents, raise their awareness of oral health and preventive care, and facilitate their children’s access to dental services.
Authors: Maryam Amin,Maryam Elyas,Anastasiya Valiushka,Arnaldo Perez Publication Date: 1/1/2016

Publication Type: Webpage

URL:https://jcda.ca/sites/default/files/g23_0.pdf