SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Oral Health

Sec. Preventive Dentistry

Volume 6 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2025.1524715

This article is part of the Research TopicOral Diseases and Prevention in Pregnant Women, Infants and Preschool ChildrenView all 6 articles

Carer perspectives on overweight, obesity and dental caries in early childhood: findings from a systematic qualitative review

Provisionally accepted
Heilok  ChengHeilok Cheng1,2,3*Rebecca  ChenRebecca Chen4,5,6Bradley  ChristianBradley Christian6,7Jessica  AppletonJessica Appleton3,8Amit  AroraAmit Arora6,9Elizabeth  Denney-WilsonElizabeth Denney-Wilson1,2,3
  • 1Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 2Sydney Institute for Women, Children and their Families, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 3NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Translating Early Prevention of Obesity in Childhood, Sydney, Australia
  • 4Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
  • 5Institute of Dental Research, Westmead Centre for Oral Health, Westmead Hospital, Wentworthville, New South Wales, Australia
  • 6School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
  • 7Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
  • 8Centre for Midwifery, Child and Family Health, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, New South Wales, Australia
  • 9School of Health Science, Western Sydney University, Penrith, New South Wales, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Introduction: Formula and bottle feeding behaviours can increase obesity and tooth decay (early childhood caries, ECC) in early childhood, through non-responsive feeding and prolonged exposure to sugar. Parents’ beliefs can be barriers to behaviour change for obesity and ECC prevention. Understanding these beliefs towards children’s teeth and weight can address parents’ priorities and develop prevention messages. This qualitative systematic review (PROSPERO registration #CRD42022348783) aimed to identify parent or carer perspectives on obesity and ECC in children aged ≤6 years. Methods: Database searching of CINAHL, Medline and EMBASE, with hand searching, was undertaken. Included papers were qualitative research publications, focused on parent or carer beliefs and attitudes towards overweight, obesity or ECC in infants and children. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to generate themes, with a strengths-based approach focused on parents’ lived experience. Quality appraisal was undertaken with the CASP Qualitative Checklist. Descriptive characteristics of the study and participants, and qualitative findings, were extracted qualitatively in NVivo. Results: 7365 references were identified from database and hand searching, with 98 references included for analysis. Three research themes were generated: 1) parenting to support child wellness, including healthy teeth and weight; 2) parents’ response to unwellness, including identifying symptoms, causes and protective factors for unhealthy weight and teeth; 3) information and resources needed to support healthy weight and teeth. There was high or potential risk of bias in qualitative methodology when studies did not address researcher-participant relationships or rigorous data analysis processes. Discussion: Findings highlight the need for strength-based messages for children’s teeth and weight, increased understanding of formula and bottle feeding as obesity and ECC risk factors, and holistic approaches to care by dental and primary care professionals.

Keywords: Dental Caries, Obesity, Health Knowledge, Attitude and practice, Child Health, Child Nutrition Sciences

Received: 08 Nov 2024; Accepted: 21 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Cheng, Chen, Christian, Appleton, Arora and Denney-Wilson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Heilok Cheng, Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2050, New South Wales, Australia

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