# Examining Adolescent Social Networks and Dental Utilization in the National Longitudinal AddHealth Study

> **NIH NIH R03** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2024 · $157,295

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a developmental period when oral diseases often arise and a time during which dental
care is the most common unmet health care need. Approximately one-fifth of U.S. adolescents have
untreated dental caries in their permanent teeth, and they use fewer dental services compared with
younger children. Adolescence is also a developmental period during which they are strongly
influenced by the peers in their social network, which is a person’s network of in-person social
interactions and interpersonal relationships. Outside of oral health, research on social networks have
been instrumental in advancing our understanding of obesity, smoking, HIV/AIDS and drug addiction.
Far less is known about the effects of social networks on oral health; and there is no existing literature
on the association between social networks and oral health outcomes in adolescents. This study will
examine the extent to which adolescent social networks are predictive of dental utilization. We will use
the largest, most comprehensive longitudinal survey of adolescents in the U.S., which is the National
Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, 1994-2018 (Add Health). Add Health collected peer
network data from 90,118 public school students aged 10 to 19 years from 145 schools in Wave I
(1994-1995) and completed 4 additional Waves of data collection through 2018. A whole peer network
can be constructed from this dataset, which allows us to study the relationship between social network
characteristics and dental utilization cross-sectionally in the same year and longitudinally as the cohort
transitioned to adulthood. We will use multiple regression controlling for individual, family, community,
and social network characteristics with peer- and school-level random effects to examine the extent to
which adolescent social networks are predictive of dental utilization. This proposal addresses the
NIDCR’s strategic vision 2030 on Oral Health + Overall Health, which prioritizes longitudinal cohort
studies of oral health across the lifespan. The overall impact of this research will increase our
understanding of the relationship between social networks and oral health outcomes, apply rigorous
social network analytic methods to dental health research, and inform novel approaches to
interventions that improve dental utilization in an age range that has persistent untreated dental caries.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10600053
- **Project number:** 5R03DE030922-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Alison J. Culyba
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $157,295
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-04-01 → 2025-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10600053

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10600053, Examining Adolescent Social Networks and Dental Utilization in the National Longitudinal AddHealth Study (5R03DE030922-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10600053. Licensed CC0.

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