Socioeconomic inequalities in oral health: dental caries in 6 to 12 year-old children

• Published in: Revista de investigacion clinica Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 296 - 304
• Main Authors: Medina-Solís, Carlo Eduardo, Maupomé, Gerardo, Pelcastre-Villafuerte, Blanca, Avila-Burgos, Leticia, Vallejos-Sánchez, Ana Alicia, Casanova-Rosado, Alejandro José
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Mexico 01.07.2006
• Subjects: Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Mexico - epidemiology; Oral Health; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Mexico
• ISSN: 0034-8376

To explore the association between caries indices in primary and permanent dentition and socioeconomic indicators at the individual and ecologic levels in 6-12 year old children. A comparative analysis of two datasets depicting oral health status in Campeche, México, with 2,939 children distributed equally by age and sex, was carried out. Oral health indices were contrasted at different cut-off points in primary and permanent dentitions (dmft, DMFT, dmft+DMFT and SiC indices) with independent variables such as place of residence (urban, marginal-urban) and mother's highest level of schooling (years of formal education) as socioeconomic variables (SES), as well as other sociodemographic variables using models of binary logistic regression in STATA 8.2. The mean age was 8.85 +/- 1.83 years and 56.6% were girls. Nine models were generated in which changes in socioeconomic variables were linked to changes in oral health features in this community (both in terms of prevalence and severity), except for DMFT > 0 at 12 years of age. In general, children of lower SES had greater caries experience and higher caries severity, in both primary and permanent dentitions. The relationships between oral health disparities and independent variables were confirmed in children living in geographically contiguous areas.