MIAMI, April 6 (UPI) -- The more stressed parents are, the more likely their children are to have tooth decay, researchers at Ohio State University have found.
Dr. Dennis A. Burns and colleagues examined the stress levels of parents whose young children either had no cavities or so many cavities that the children had receive anesthesia before undergoing dental treatment.
The researchers also looked at the parents' education levels and income, and noted if they were single parents. They also measured the parents' stress levels again after the children had received dental treatment.
The researchers found that low income, having little education and being a single parent led to increases in parental stress.
The study found the more stressed parents are, the more likely their children were to have decay, but that having one's child's dental decay treated could decrease the parental stress.
The investigators presented their findings at the 87th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research in Miami.
