Non-Cochrane · prognostic · PM42020361
The relationship between parental mental health and early childhood caries: a meta-analysis and systematic review.
Ma Lili, Jia Liying, Han Kaixuan, et al. · BDJ open · 2026 · PubMed · doi:10.1038/s41405-026-00429-w
Findings
Population Children aged 0 to 6 years
18 findings
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Child age: 3 years or younger | OR 1.67 [1.43, 1.97] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Study design: cohort studies | OR 1.67 [1.43, 1.97] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, lowest pooled estimate | OR 1.51 [1.08, 2.11] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, highest pooled estimate | OR 1.90 [1.28, 2.83] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Study design: cross-sectional studies | OR 1.56 [0.87, 2.79] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Child age: 6 years or younger | OR 1.07 [0.76, 1.50] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | dmft index Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, highest pooled estimate | SMD 0.21 [0.14, 0.28] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Parental type: mother | OR 1.35 [1.05, 1.73] GRADE not reported 6 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Caries diagnostic criteria: WHO | OR 1.55 [0.95, 2.53] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Overall (random effects) | OR 1.54 [1.12, 2.12] GRADE not reported 7 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | dmft index Overall (fixed effect) | SMD 0.19 [0.13, 0.26] GRADE not reported 5 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Caries diagnostic criteria: ICDAS | OR 1.68 [1.42, 1.99] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | dmft index Sensitivity analysis: leave-one-out, lowest pooled estimate | SMD 0.19 [0.12, 0.26] GRADE not reported Studies not reported |
| Parental mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, stress) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Child age: 3 to 6 years | OR 5.66 [3.43, 9.35] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Parental dental anxiety | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Type of parental mental condition: dental anxiety | OR 1.59 [1.00, 2.51] GRADE not reported 4 studies |
| Parental depression | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Type of parental mental condition: depression | OR 1.49 [1.09, 2.04] GRADE not reported 3 studies |
| Parental stress (crude ORs) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Type of parental mental condition: stress (crude ORs) | OR 2.19 [0.36, 13.20] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
| Parental stress (adjusted ORs) | Parents with good mental health | ECC prevalence Adjusted ORs | OR 0.81 [0.58, 1.14] GRADE not reported 2 studies |
Included primary studies 12
Open in Studies| Study | Year | Also included by | Outcomes it informs here | Trial data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shrikrishna 2018 (Shruti) The cyclic AMP control system in the development of Dictyostelium discoideum. I. Cellular dynamics. PMID:201810 | 1977 | 1 other review | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Alade 2021 Early childhood caries: Are maternal psychosocial factors, decision-making ability, and caries status risk indicators for children in a… PMID:33941156 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Alhareky 2021 Relationship Between Maternal Dental Anxiety and Children's Dental Caries in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. PMID:34040449 | 2021 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Finlayson 2007 Psychosocial factors and early childhood caries among low-income African-American children in Detroit. PMID:18039285 | 2007 | this review only | ECC prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Fonseca 2023 Maternal depression in first 1000 days of life and early childhood caries prevalence at 48 months of age. PMID:37897660 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Foxman 2022 Maternal factors and risk of early childhood caries: A prospective cohort study. PMID:36168961 | 2023 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Gavic 2022 The association of parental dental anxiety and knowledge of caries preventive measures with psychological profiles and children's oral… PMID:35274540 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Goettems 2012 Influence of maternal dental anxiety on the child's dental caries experience. PMID:22156724 | 2012 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Knoblauch 2019 The association between socioeconomic status, psychopathological symptom burden in mothers, and early childhood caries of their children. PMID:31658278 | 2019 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Mahapatra 2022 Association between Parental Stress and Early Childhood Caries Experience among Preschool Children in Maduravoyal, Chennai: A… PMID:35645535 | 2022 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
| Quinonez 2001 Early childhood caries: analysis of psychosocial and biological factors in a high-risk population. PMID:11641574 | 2001 | this review only | ECC prevalence | not extracted yet |
| Santos 2017 Maternal Depression Increases Childhood Dental Caries: A Cohort Study in Brazil. PMID:27898426 | 2017 | this review only | not stated | not extracted yet |
Overlap with other reviews
Reviews that include the same primary studies are not independent evidence. Shared counts match studies by PMID, DOI or NCT, and otherwise by author and year (a probable match). Only the non-Cochrane dental reviews have study lists, so overlap with Cochrane reviews is not counted yet.
| Review | Shared studies | Jaccard |
|---|---|---|
| Structural Neuroimaging Alterations in Primary Burning Mouth Syndrome: A Seed-Based d Mapping (SDM-PSI) Meta-Analysis. (2026) | 1 | 0.05 |
Review question
| Element | Planned (methods) | Found (results) |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Children aged 0-6 years | Children aged 0-6 years (n=10329 across 12 studies) |
| Intervention | Parental mental health including depression, anxiety and stress, assessed with valid and reliable measures | Parental dental anxiety (7 studies), depression (3), stress (4), general anxiety disorder (1) |
| Comparison | Parents with good mental health | Parents without mental illness |
| Outcomes | Prevalence of ECC or dmft index (OR, adjusted OR or SMD with 95% CI) | ECC prevalence (7 studies); dmft index (5 studies); adjusted ORs for stress (2 studies) |
| Study designs | Epidemiological studies (cross-sectional, cohort) | 9 cross-sectional studies, 3 cohort studies |
| Timing | Not specified | Not specified |