{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,30]],"date-time":"2026-06-30T23:41:08Z","timestamp":1782862868277,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":55,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1762473600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Dentistry Journal"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the oral health status of socially vulnerable children and adolescents in Seville and to examine its associations with behavioral and sociodemographic determinants. We hypothesized that greater social vulnerability and suboptimal behaviors would be associated with higher caries experience. Methods: A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted on 250 participants aged 2 to 17 years attending the Luis S\u00e9iquer Social Dentistry Foundation between January and March 2025. Clinical examinations followed the WHO Oral Health Surveys: Basic Methods (5th edition, 2013) and were performed by a calibrated dentist. Variables included dental caries indices (dft, DMFT), pulpal treatment needs, and oral hygiene practices. Statistical analyses included Kruskal\u2013Wallis, Mann\u2013Whitney U, Fisher\u2019s exact tests, and multivariate regression models (significance level p &lt; 0.05). Results: Caries prevalence was high across all age groups, particularly in primary dentition (mean dft = 3.05 \u00b1 3.80; DMFT = 2.99 \u00b1 3.66; p &lt; 0.001). Pulp therapy needs were significantly higher among preschoolers (mean = 2.22 \u00b1 2.31). Factors such as low parental education, migrant background, insufficient toothbrushing frequency, and frequent sugar intake were strongly associated with poorer oral health outcomes. Although fluoridated toothpaste use was widespread (&gt;94%), dental floss use remained limited (34.8%). Multivariate analyses confirmed a strong association between social inequalities and oral disease burden. Conclusions: Children and adolescents from vulnerable groups in Seville experience a high prevalence of dental caries and substantial unmet treatment needs. Findings highlight marked oral health disparities linked to socioeconomic status, emphasizing the urgent need for early preventive programs, culturally adapted oral health education, and equitable access to dental care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/dj13110522","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]],"date-time":"2025-11-07T10:56:45Z","timestamp":1762513005000},"page":"522","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Oral Health Status Among Children and Adolescents from Vulnerable Populations: A Cross-Sectional Study in Seville, Spain"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-5705-1652","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rodolfo Esteban","family":"Reyes-Lara","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4403-4216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Adri\u00e1n","family":"Curto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6123-9216","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Ribas-Perez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Stomatology, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Seville, 41005 Seville, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3286-7111","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ignacio","family":"Barbero-Navarro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8396-7596","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Diego","family":"Rodriguez-Menacho","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1338-0551","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Javier","family":"Flores-Fraile","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Antonio","family":"Casta\u00f1o-S\u00e9iquer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Salamanca, 37007 Salamanca, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,11,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"249","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)31146-8","article-title":"Oral diseases: A global public health challenge","volume":"394","author":"Peres","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"289","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0528.2012.00680.x","article-title":"Integrating the common risk factor approach into a social determinants framework","volume":"40","author":"Watt","year":"2012","journal-title":"Community Dent. 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