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Oral health status in N avajo N ation H ead S tart children
Author(s) -
Batliner Terrence,
Wilson Anne R.,
Tiwari Tamanna,
Glueck Deborah,
Henderson William,
Thomas Jacob,
Braun Patricia,
Cudeii Diana,
Quissell David,
Albino Judith
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of public health dentistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 63
eISSN - 1752-7325
pISSN - 0022-4006
DOI - 10.1111/jphd.12061
Subject(s) - medicine , oral health , gerontology , population , clinical trial , demography , dentistry , environmental health , sociology
Objective This study assessed oral health status for preschool‐aged children in the N avajo N ation to obtain data on baseline decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces (dmfs) and dental caries patterns, describe sociodemographic correlates of children's baseline dmfs measures, and compare the children's dmfs measures with previous dental survey data for the N avajo N ation from the I ndian H ealth S ervice and the N ational H ealth and N utrition E xamination S urvey ( NHANES ). Methods The analyzed study sample included 981 child/caregiver dyads residing in the N avajo N ation who completed baseline dmfs assessments for an ongoing randomized clinical trial involving N avajo N ation H ead S tart C enters. Calibrated dental hygienists collected baseline dmfs data from child participants ages 3‐5 years (488 males and 493 females), and caregivers completed a basic research factors questionnaire. Results Mean dmfs for the study population was 21.33 ( SD = 19.99) and not appreciably different from the 1999 I ndian H ealth S ervice survey of N avajo N ation preschool‐aged children (mean = 19.02, SD = 16.59, P = 0.08). However, only 69.5 percent of children in the current study had untreated decay compared with 82.9 percent in the 1999 I ndian H ealth S ervice survey ( P < 0.0001). Study results were considerably higher than the 16.0 percent reported for 2‐4‐year‐old children in the whites‐only group from the 1999‐2004 NHANES data. Age had the strongest association with dmfs, followed by child gender, then caregiver income and education. Conclusion Dental caries in preschool‐aged N avajo children is extremely high compared with other US population segments, and dmfs has not appreciably changed for more than a decade.