Foster and kinship carers play an integral part in establishing oral health promoting behaviours and managing the oral health issues of children in out-of-home care (OOHC). This study aimed to explore the knowledge, experiences and support needs of Australian foster and kinship carers in maintaining the oral health of children living in OOHC, using semi-structured interviews with eight purposively sampled carers. Results showed that the participants understood the importance of good oral health for general well-being and were motivated to implement good oral hygiene practices with the children in their care. The challenges encountered by foster and kinship carers included: a lack of information from foster care agencies regarding the oral health needs of children; difficulty in the pre-approval processes for dental treatment; and poor communication between carers and foster care agencies. Systemic challenges included: transience and frequent changes in the child’s foster placement; long waiting lists for dental treatment; and lack of dental professionals. We conclude that foster and kinship carers need support to promote the oral health of children in OOHC and that systemic barriers must be identified and addressed.
AbantoJCiamponiALFrancischiniEMurakamiCde RezendeNPMGallottiniM (2011)
Medical problems and oral care of patients with Down syndrome: A literature review.Special Care in Dentistry31(6): 197–203.
2.
AbramsLS (2010)
Sampling ‘hard to reach’ populations in qualitative research: The case of incarcerated youth. Qualitative Social Work9(4): 536–550.
3.
AlshehriYFANichollsWMaiNQParkJSKrugerE (2021)
Cross-sectional analysis of dental treatment under general anaesthesia in hospitalised Western Australian children in 2018–19. Australian Health Review45(5): 584–590.
BarberJDelfabbroPGilbertsonR (2004) Children in foster care.
London:
Routledge.
9.
BaskaradossJK (2018)
Relationship between oral health literacy and oral health status. BMC Oral Health18(1): 1–6.
10.
BerlinMMensahTLundgrenFKlingbergGHjernAVinnerljungBCederlundA (2018)
Dental healthcare utilisation among young adults who were in societal out‐of‐home care as children: A Swedish national cohort study. International Journal of Social Welfare27(4): 325–336.
11.
Centre for Oral Health Strategy (2013) Oral health 2020: A strategic framework for dental health in NSW. Available at: nla.gov.au/nla.obj-2980002009/view
12.
Centre for Oral Health Strategy (2014) Early childhood oral health guidelines for child health professionals, 3rd edn.
13.
ChenKJGaoSSDuangthipDLoECMChuCH (2019)
Prevalence of early childhood caries among 5‐year‐old children: A systematic review.Journal of investigative and clinical dentistry10(1): article no. e12376.
14.
Child Welfare Information Gateway (2021) Adoption and foster care analysis and reporting system (AFCARS) report 27. Available at: www.acf.hhs.gov/cb/report/afcars-report-27
de CastilhoARFMialheFLBarbosaTdSPuppin-RontaniRM (2013)
Influence of family environment on children's oral health: A systematic review.Jornal de pediatria89: 116–123.
17.
de Silva‐SanigorskiAAshboltRGreenJCalacheHKeithBRiggsEWatersE (2013)
Parental self‐efficacy and oral health‐related knowledge are associated with parent and child oral health behaviors and self‐reported oral health status. Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology41(4): 345–352.
HillenTGafsonL (2015)
Why good placements matter: Pre-placement and placement risk factors associated with mental health disorders in pre-school children in foster care.Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry20(3): 486–499.
21.
JacksonSLVannJr WFKotchJBPahelBTLeeJY (2011)
Impact of poor oral health on children's school attendance and performance.American Journal of Public Health101(10): 1900–1906.
22.
JurczyszynREasterbrookL (2018)
Platform 18 - Australias first transition from out-of-home care health services. International Journal of Integrated Care (IJIC)18: 1–8.
23.
KingDBO'RourkeNDeLongisA (2014)
Social media recruitment and online data collection: A beginner’s guide and best practices for accessing low-prevalence and hard-to-reach populations.Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne55(4): 240–249.
24.
McLeanKClarkeJScottDHiscockH (2020)
Foster and kinship carer experiences of accessing healthcare: A qualitative study of barriers, enablers and potential solutions. Children and Youth Services Review113: article no. 104976.
25.
MilesBWOkamotoSK (2008)
The social construction of deviant behavior in homeless and runaway youth: Implications for practice. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal25(5): 425–441.
26.
MilesMBHubermanAM (1994) Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook.
Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage Publications.
27.
MorónEMTomarSLSouzaRBalzerJSavioliCShawkatS (2019)
Dental status and treatment needs of children in foster care.Pediatric Dentistry41(3): 206–210.
28.
MuirheadVSubramanianSKWrightDWongFSL (2017)
How do foster carers manage the oral health of children in foster care? A qualitative study.Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology45(6): 529–537.
29.
PeresMAMacphersonLMWeyantRJDalyB, et al. (2019)
Oral diseases: A global public health challenge. The Lancet394(10194): 249–260.
30.
RauterMJayakarAClemensTGalanosZNewberyLWhelanA (2018)
Health of Southern Tasmanian 4‐ to 6‐year‐old children in out‐of‐home care compared to peers.Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health54(4): 405–410.
31.
Solis-RiggioniAGallardo-BarqueroCChavarria-BolañosD (2018)
Prevalence and severity of dental caries in foster-care children and adolescents.Journal of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry42(4): 269–272.
32.
SzilagyiMARosenDSRubinDZlotnikS,
the Council on Foster Care, Adoption, and Kinship Care, the Committee on Adolescence and the Council on Early Childhood (2015) Health care issues for children and adolescents in foster care and kinship care.Pediatrics136(4): e1142–e1166.
33.
VealeMAjwaniSJohnsonMNashLPattersonTGeorgeA (2016)
The early childhood oral health program: A qualitative study of the perceptions of child and family health nurses in South Western Sydney, Australia. BMC Oral Health16(1): 1–10.
