PhD defence A.W. (Agatha) van Meijeren-van Lunteren

Summary:

Dental caries is one of the most common chronic conditions among children worldwide. Especially children with low-socioeconomic or non-native backgrounds are affected with dental caries. However, a full understanding of the process driving the high incidence of dental caries, especially among disadvantaged groups, is lacking. Therefore, it is important to identify these determinants and  to expand the knowledge on prevention of dental caries during childhood by studying the broader living environment of children. The studies presented in this thesis were designed to identify nutritional and social determinants that are associated with dental caries over the early life-course using a population based prospective birth cohort (Generation R), and to identify intervention strategies that could reduce oral health inequalities during childhood. The results of this thesis showed that several nutritional and social-environmental determinants during early childhood until young adulthood are associated with dental caries in the primary and permanent dentition. The findings of this thesis highlight the importance of reducing dental caries and oral health inequalities from an early age onwards using a multidisciplinary approach.