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Oral health in adolescents from a small French town
Author(s) -
Weissenbach Michel,
Chau Nearkasèn,
Benamghar Lahoucine,
Lion Christine,
Schwartz Françoise,
Vadot Jean
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1995.tb00219.x
Subject(s) - medicine , saliva , sugar consumption , dentistry , oral health , dental plaque , demography , oral hygiene , calculus (dental) , environmental health , sugar , food science , chemistry , sociology
In France, caries are more prevalent in rural areas than in large cities. This study analyzed the relationship between number of oral health indices and some known risk factors (toothbrushing, sugar consumption, saliva components) and sociodemographic factors in adolescents from a small town. The sample included 112 children aged 12–14 in the north‐east of France. School marks was found to be better linked with dental caries indices than the socio‐occupational category of parents: gingival index (GI), DMFS, DMFT and caries severity (CS) significantly increased with decreasing school marks; oral plaque was related to socio‐occupational of parents. The analysis using the regression method showed that the variance explained by the various factors studied was modest (between 23 and 30%) for GI, initial caries sites (IS), DS, DMFS, DMFT and CS. and was small for plaque (5%) and calculus (3%). This would be due in part to the wide dispersion of these indices. The sex had a non‐significant regression coefficient for all oral health indices investigated. For GI, only mutans streptococci (MS) and plaque had a significant regression coefficient. Calculus was explained by any factor considered. Only MS had a significant part in plaque. IS was explained by MS, tooth‐brushing and age. For DS, only toothbrushing, MS and sweet drinks during meals had a significant part. DMFS and DMFT were explained only by MS and age. CS was explained by MS, age, salivary buffer pH, salivary flow rate, and tooth‐brushing.