Low-income children have higher rates of unmet oral health needs. Prior research suggests that poor oral health is associated with lower academic performance but uses cross-sectional and mostly parent-reported measures. This study examined the association between oral health during the first 5 y of life and subsequent academic achievement for low-income children. Birth certificates of children born in Iowa in 1999–2009 were linked to Medicaid enrollment and dental claims data in 1999–2014 and reading and math standardized school test scores for grades 2 through 11. The following oral health measures were examined: having minor dental treatments (mostly surface fillings), major dental treatments (mostly crowns and pulpotomy) or extractions, and comprehensive dental exams during the first 5 y of life. Regression models were estimated adjusting for sociodemographic factors, early infant health, and school district effects. The sample included 28,859 children and 127,464 child-grade observations. In total, 21%, 12%, and 62% of children had at least 1 minor dental treatment, 1 major treatment or extraction, and 1 comprehensive dental exam in the first 5 y of life, respectively. Children who received a minor dental treatment had higher reading and math scores by 1 percentile (95% CI, 0.09–1.9) and 0.9 percentiles (95% CI, 0.02–1.8), respectively. Children who had a major dental treatment or extraction had lower reading and math scores by 2.4 (95% CI, −3.5 to −1.4) and 1.8 (95% CI, −2.8 to −0.8) percentiles. Children who had a comprehensive oral exam had higher reading and math scores by 0.7 (95% CI, 0.06–1.4) and 1.2 (95% CI, 0.6–1.9) percentiles. The findings suggest that children’s oral health before school age is associated with academic achievement later during school years.

低收入儿童口腔健康需求未得到满足的比例较高。先前的研究表明，口腔健康状况不佳与学业成绩较低有关，但采用的是横断面且大部分是家长报告的措施。这项研究调查了低收入儿童生命前 5 年内的口腔健康与随后的学业成绩之间的关系。1999-2009 年在爱荷华州出生的儿童的出生证明与 1999-2014 年医疗补助登记和牙科索赔数据以及 2 至 11 年级的阅读和数学标准化学校考试成绩相关联。检查了以下口腔健康措施： 进行小型牙科治疗（主要是表面填充）、主要牙科治疗（主要是牙冠和活髓切断术）或拔牙，以及生命前 5 年内的全面牙科检查。回归模型根据社会人口因素、早期婴儿健康和学区影响进行了估计。样本包括 28,859 名儿童和 127,464 名儿童级别的观察结果。总共，21%、12% 和 62% 的儿童在生命的前 5 年内分别至少接受过 1 次小型牙科治疗、1 次主要治疗或拔牙以及 1 次综合牙科检查。接受轻微牙科治疗的儿童的阅读和数学成绩分别高出 1 个百分点（95% CI，0.09-1.9）和 0.9 个百分点（95% CI，0.02-1.8）。接受过重大牙科治疗或拔牙的儿童的阅读和数学成绩分别降低了 2.4 个百分点（95% CI，-3.5 至 -1.4）和 1.8 个百分点（95% CI，-2.8 至 -0.8）。参加综合口语考试的孩子的阅读和数学成绩分别高出 0.7 个百分点（95% CI，0.06-1.4）和 1.2 个百分点（95% CI，0.6-1.9）。研究结果表明，儿童学龄前的口腔健康与学年后期的学业成绩有关。