Dental Health Linked To Performance At School

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A new study has linked poor oral health to poor performance in the classroom.

Research carried out by the Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California revealed that oral health has a direct impact on performance at school. Researchers analysed data from 1,500 children from disadvantaged backgrounds; information about children attending elementary and high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, was evaluated and researchers matched oral health status to attendance and academic achievement.

Researchers had already noted that around 73% of disadvantaged children in Los Angeles have cavities, but the aim of the study was to determine whether there is a connection between oral health status and academic performance. According to the study, children who suffered from tooth pain were four times more likely to score a lower grade average.

Roseann Mulligan, chair of the Ostrow School’s Division of Dental Public Health and Paediatric Dentistry and author of the study, said that oral health did not just affect grades, it also impacted on attendance, with elementary school children missing 2.1 days of school per year due to dental problems and high school students missing out on 2.3 days. The study also revealed that parents missed an average of 2.5 days of work to look after children with dental problems.

The study, ‘The Impact of Oral Health on the Academic Performance of Disadvantaged Children’, will be published in the September issue of the American Journal for Public Health.

 

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