{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T18:19:57Z","timestamp":1787854797267,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787788800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Oral Health Children, Youth and Families Fund, Mike Petryk School of Dentistry","award":["OHCY-01"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["OHCY-01"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"\n Objectives<\/jats:title>\n Oral health disparities persist among immigrants. Little is known about how social media shapes the socio-psychological environment in which parenting and health behaviours occur. This study examined the link between immigrant mothers\u2019 anxiety and depression and children\u2019s oral health behaviours (OHBs) and evaluated social media addiction as a mediator or moderator.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n This cross-sectional study recruited immigrant parents of children aged 2\u201312 years in Edmonton, Canada. Parents completed a questionnaire assessing demographics, children\u2019s OHBs (dental visits, toothbrushing, diet), anxiety and depression (The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS-14; scored 0\u201321), and social media addiction (Bergen-6; scored 6\u201330). Logistic regression, mediation, and moderation analyses were performed.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n 302 questionnaires were analyzed. Mean (SD) ages of mothers and children were 37.7 (6.8) and 6.7 (3.3) years, respectively; 49% of children were female, and 65% born in Canada. On average, parents had lived in Canada for 9.9 years, and 68% had higher education. Higher maternal anxiety reduced the odds of child toothbrushing by 14% (OR: 0.86, 95% CI: 0.74 0.98), and higher depression was associated with a 21% reduction (OR: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.63\u20130.93). Each one-unit increase in anxiety and depression corresponded to a 49% and 51% increase in social media addiction scores (p\u2009<\u2009.05). No mediation or moderation effects were found.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n Maternal anxiety and depression reduced children\u2019s toothbrushing, with no mediation by social media addiction. Integrating mental health screening into dental care can improve oral health in immigrant communities, fostering better outcomes and inclusive policies.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0357008","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T17:32:57Z","timestamp":1787851977000},"page":"e0357008","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Social media addiction, maternal mental health, and children\u2019s oral health behaviours among immigrants"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Solmaz","family":"Bohlouli","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5073-5039","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Devarasa","family":"Murugeshappa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Babak","family":"Bohlouli","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2249-5465","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Maryam","family":"Amin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0357008.ref001","volume-title":"Oral health in America: advances and challenges","author":"M Bethesda","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref002","unstructured":"The State of Oral Health in Canada. 2017."},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref003","unstructured":"Selected indicators of oral health in Canada. https:\/\/www150.statcan.gc.ca\/n1\/pub\/71-607-x\/71-607-x2024028-eng.htm Accessed 2024 October 23."},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref004","article-title":"The Oral Health of Preschool Children of Refugee and Immigrant Families in Manitoba","volume":"82","author":"ME Azrak","year":"2017","journal-title":"J Can Dent Assoc"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0357008.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"188","DOI":"10.1007\/s10903-021-01262-z","article-title":"Identifying Barriers to Healthcare Access for New Immigrants: A Qualitative Study in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada","volume":"24","author":"M Pandey","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Immigr Minor Health"},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"693","DOI":"10.1007\/s10903-018-0835-1","article-title":"Oral health status of refugee children in Montreal","volume":"21","author":"A-M Moreau","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Immigr Minor Health"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0357008.ref007","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1968","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-024-19354-4","article-title":"Oral health inequalities in immigrant populations worldwide: a scoping review of dental caries and periodontal disease prevalence","volume":"24","author":"SA Banihashem Rad","year":"2024","journal-title":"BMC Public Health"},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref008","article-title":"Oral Health Status Of Immigrant And Refugee Children In North America: A Scoping Review","volume":"82","author":"M Reza","year":"2016","journal-title":"J Can Dent Assoc"},{"key":"pone.0357008.ref009","unstructured":"Health equity. 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