Journal
ASIA-PACIFIC JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 28, Issue 7, Pages 620-628Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
DOI: 10.1177/1010539516667783
Keywords
oral health care; health management; community dentistry/oral health; public health; child health; family medicine; inequalities in health; health promotion; population health
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Timor-Leste is one of the poorest countries in the world. The aim of this article was to investigate the association between socioeconomic status (SES) and dental caries experience in children living in Dili. Four out of 6 Dili subdistricts and 40 schools were randomly selected. Equal numbers of school children from 4 age groups (6-8, 9-11, 12-14, 15-17 years) were invited to participate. Data were gathered via a questionnaire and an oral examination by dental practitioners. In bivariate analysis, decayed, missing, and filled teeth index for deciduous + permanent teeth (dmft) was higher in children from mid-to high-SES than low-SES schools (1.1, 2.2, P = .001). With age, having had a toothache and dental visiting in the past 12 months in the multivariable model, higher dmft was found in children from mid-to high-to low-SES schools (P < .001). The primary dental caries experience was greater among children from mid-to high-than low-SES schools, which may be explained by high sugar consumption.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available