Maternal anxiety and depression reduced children's toothbrushing among immigrant families, with no mediation or moderation by social media addiction, suggesting that integrating mental health screening into dental care can improve oral health in immigrant communities.
Higher maternal anxiety was associated with reduced odds of child toothbrushing among immigrant families.
Higher maternal depression was associated with a greater reduction in the odds of child toothbrushing than anxiety.
Higher maternal anxiety and depression were each associated with increased social media addiction scores.
Social media addiction did not mediate or moderate the relationship between maternal mental health and children's oral health behaviours.
The study sample was composed of immigrant parents with relatively high education levels who had lived in Canada for nearly a decade on average.
Maternal anxiety and depression did not significantly affect other children's oral health behaviours beyond toothbrushing, including dental visits and diet.
This research suggests that immigrant mothers who experience higher levels of anxiety or depression are less likely to ensure their children brush their teeth regularly. The study, conducted in Edmonton, Canada, surveyed 302 immigrant parents of children aged 2 to 12 years and found that for every one-point increase in a mother's anxiety score, the likelihood of her child brushing teeth regularly dropped by 14%, while a one-point increase in depression was linked to a 21% drop. These findings held even after accounting for other factors, highlighting a meaningful connection between a mother's mental health and her child's daily oral hygiene habits. The study also explored whether social media addiction played a role in this relationship — either amplifying or transmitting the effect of mental health on children's oral health. While mothers with higher anxiety and depression did show notably higher social media addiction scores, social media addiction did not explain or change the link between maternal mental health and children's toothbrushing. This means social media use was associated with poor maternal mental health but was not the mechanism connecting mental health to children's oral hygiene. This research suggests that addressing mental health among immigrant mothers could be an important pathway to improving children's oral health in immigrant communities. Dental care settings may be a practical place to screen for anxiety and depression, since parents regularly bring children to dental appointments. Supporting maternal mental wellbeing could have downstream benefits for children's health habits, and these findings point toward the value of more inclusive, culturally aware health policies that recognize the interconnected nature of mental health and oral health.
Bohlouli S, Murugeshappa D, Bohlouli B, Amin M. (2026). Social media addiction, maternal mental health, and children's oral health behaviours among immigrants.. PloS one. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0357008