Caries experience and oral cleanliness of 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children from deprived and non‐deprived areas in Edinburgh, Scotland

Abstract

Caries experience and oral cleanliness were measured in 1,453 3- and 4-year-old Edinburgh nursery schoolchildren living in areas of multiple urban deprivation and of non-deprivation in the city of Edinburgh. Children with poor oral cleanliness had a mean dmf value of 3.6 teeth compared with 1.6 teeth in those with good oral cleanliness. The greatest relative increases in caries experience were seen in the incisor and canine teeth and upon the occlusal and approximal surfaces. Children living in deprived city areas had a mean dmf value of 3.0 teeth compared with 2.0 teeth in those from non-deprived areas. This difference in caries experience was partially accounted for by the different standards of oral cleanliness found between the deprived and non-deprived areas. In the deprived areas there was a trend towards a high caries experience which was independent of the standard of oral cleanliness. The children were in considerable need of dental care. Only 23 percent of dmf teeth had been either extracted or restored.

Centre‐level variation in dental treatment and oral health and individual‐ and area‐level predictors of oral health in 5‐year‐old children with non‐syndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate: the Cleft Care UK study. Part 3

“…Deprivation has been associated with a higher consumption of non‐milk extrinsic sugars and with lesser use of fluoride toothpastes, both factors associated with a greater caries risk . This is consistent with findings from other studies in the general population and suggests that deprivation is an important risk factor in children with cleft lip and palate …”

Dental health situation in privileged children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…The industrialized eountries have experienced sueh a continuous increase in dental caries (17,23), a trend that has been interrupted only by a drastic reduetion in sugar consumption (20,21) or where preventive measures have been employed (2-4, 11, 13, 18). In the industrialized countries a better dental health status has generally been found in higher than in lower socioeconomic groups (10,14,22). The contrasting findings of the present study reflect a situatioti where understanding of dental diseases is virtually non-existent.…”

Effectiveness on oral health of a long-term health education programme for mothers with young children

“…A higher level of dental caries in at-risk preschool children has also been reported by previous national and international studies. [17][18][19][20][21] A comparison of the active groups A, B and C with D would seem to indicate there was no difference between visiting every 3 months with every 12 months. This may have cost implications if the successful approach, tested here, were to be implemented as a dental public health strategy.…”