Ethnic indicators of dental health for young Asian schoolchildren resident in areas of multiple deprivation.
The aim of the study was to explore the use of two social indicators in a dental caries epidemiological study of 5-year-old Asian schoolchildren in an area of multiple deprivation. The two indicators selected were religious background and the mother's ability to speak English. Six hundred and forty-three 5-year-old schoolchildren from three schools were examined; the mean dmft was 2.84 (SD 3.63). Children were classified into three groups on broad ethnic/facial characteristics, and the mean dmft for Asians (3.64) differed statistically significantly from those of both Whites (1.83) and Afro-Caribbeans (1.87). When the Asian population was divided into four groups, to explore the effects of religion and the mother's ability to speak English, a statistically significant interaction was observed between religion and language for mean dmft and dental cleanliness. The Asian non-Muslim children whose mothers were English speaking (ES) compared well with the White and Afro-Caribbean group for mean dmft, percentage caries-free and oral cleanliness. When these variables were examined for the two Muslim groups and the non-Muslim group whose mothers were non-English speaking (NES), no statistically significant differences were observed. Oral health promotion should therefore consider that there are three distinct dental high-risk groups for young Asian children: Muslim ES and NES mothers and non-Muslim NES mothers. Each group will require a different health promotion strategy. Non-English speaking mothers need adequate translation, whereas all Muslim mothers need help to find proper alternatives to baby-foods which, although common in the UK, are culturally inappropriate to Muslims.
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D001208:Asia / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology*; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D009909:Oral Health; D011203:Poverty; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012067:Religion; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D006113:United Kingdom; D044465:White People