Scoping review on the link between economic growth, decent work, and early childhood caries.

Ray M Masumo, Rosa Amalia, Ola B Al-Batayneh, Ana Vukovic, Robert J Schroth, Duangporn Duangthip, Maha El Tantawi, Morẹ́nikẹ́ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan, Arthur Kemoli, Imen Ayouni, Arthemon Nguweneza, Ivy Guofang Sun, Jorma I Virtanen, Balgis Gaffar, Tshepiso Mfolo

Journal: BMC oral health 2024;24(1):77

PMID: 38218865

Free Full Text on BioMed Central View on PubMed

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is a prevalent chronic non-communicable disease that affects millions of young children globally, with profound implications for their well-being and oral health. This paper explores the associations between ECC and the targets of the Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8).

METHODS

The scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. In July 2023, a search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus using tailored search terms related to economic growth, decent work sustained economic growth, higher levels of productivity and technological innovation, entrepreneurship, job creation, and efforts to eradicate forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking and ECC all of which are the targets of the SDG8. Only English language publications, and publications that were analytical in design were included. Studies that solely examined ECC prevalence without reference to SDG8 goals were excluded.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 761 articles. After removing duplicates and ineligible manuscripts, 84 were screened. However, none of the identified studies provided data on the association between decent work, economic growth-related factors, and ECC.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review found no English publication on the associations between SDG8 and ECC despite the plausibility for this link. This data gap can hinder policymaking and resource allocation for oral health programs. Further research should explore the complex relationship between economic growth, decent work and ECC to provide additional evidence for better policy formulation and ECC control globally.

Address: Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada. [email protected].; Department of Child Dental Health, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. [email protected].; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Orthodontics, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.; Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Division of Human Genetics, Department of Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.; Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, China.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Clinical Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Community Health and Nutrition, Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Clinic for Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, School of Dental Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Orthodontics, Pediatric and Community Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.; Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Preventive Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Community Dentistry, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.; Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.; Department of Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.

DOI: 10.1186/s12903-023-03766-6

Link outs

Free resources

Full Text Sources:

Medical:

https://medlineplus.gov/toothdecay.html

Miscellaneous:

https://assays.cancer.gov/CPTAC-1548

MeSH Terms: Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Dental Caries, Dental Caries Susceptibility, Economic Development, Oral Health, Prevalence