New immigrants receptive to dental care

BOSTON, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- A "silent epidemic" of dental problems is occurring in disadvantaged communities, but new immigrants are the most receptive to oral care, U.S. researchers say.

Study authors Shuili Du, of Sankar Sen of City University of New York, and C.B. Bhattacharya of Boston University evaluated the effectiveness of an oral health outreach program in disadvantaged communities.

The researchers found that focusing on the social benefits of having a beautiful smile was the most effective strategy for improving dental hygiene habits among participants.

The study, published in the October issue of the Journal of Consumer Research, found that families that had been in the United States longer were less responsive to the program's messages than new immigrants.

The researchers conducted focus groups of participants in urban areas with large Hispanic populations.

"Our findings suggest that, among children from less acculturated families, participation in this oral health program leads to not only more favorable beliefs about the health-related -- preventing cavities and gum diseases -- and psychosocial -- beautiful smile and self-confidence -- benefits of oral care behavior, but also an increase in oral care behavior such as brushing, flossing and dental checkups," the study authors said in a statement.