Association between Parity and Dental Caries Experience among US Women: Findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

Aim And Objective: This study aims to investigate the association between parity and dental caries among US women.

Materials And Methods: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2004) data for parous women aged 20-45 years were used for our analysis ( = 1,914). The association between parity (number of pregnancies resulted in live births) and caries experience [the decayed, missing, and filling teeth (DMFT) index] was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate regression analyses. SAS software version 9.1 was used for the statistical analyses. We used survey procedures (e.g., SURVEYFREQ, SURVEYMEANS, and SURVEYREG) that incorporate information on the appropriate weights to account for NHANES's complex sampling design.

Results: The bivariate analysis showed a trend of increase in dental caries experience among parous women as the number of live births increased ( = 0.007). After adjusting for confounders, such as age, socioeconomic status (SES), dental care coverage, and utilization, a significant association was still observed between parity level and dental caries experience ( = 0.009).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that higher parity can be associated with dental caries experience among US women of reproductive age.

Clinical Significance: Clinicians should be aware of this finding to promote better oral health care and education among women with increased parity.