title: Composite indicators of dental health: functioning teeth and the number of sound-equivalent teeth (T-Health).
abstract: This study investigated whether two new composite dental indicators--"the number of functioning teeth" and "the number of sound-equivalent teeth"--are more efficient than the conventional DMFT index in revealing the social and behavioural factors which are significantly related to oral health status. The arbitrary set of weights given to the T-Health indicator was also evaluated. The number of functioning teeth was defined as the aggregate of filled (otherwise sound) and sound teeth. The T-Health was defined as a weighted average of sound teeth, filled (otherwise sound) teeth and teeth with some decay, the weights intended in principle to represent the relative amounts of sound tissue in these three categories of teeth. An arbitrary set of weights was used: 4, 2, and 1 for sound, filled, and decayed teeth, respectively. 164 families (father, mother and at least one 13-yr-old child) from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, were randomly selected from 13-yr-old children from private and state schools. The parents' ages ranged from 35 to 44 yr. Socio-economic status, area of residence, level of education, family income, sugar consumption, toothbrushing frequency and type of dental attendance were the social and behavioural oral health risk-factors considered in this study. The results indicated that the two new dental indicators are more sensitive to the influence of social and behavioural factors, such as those investigated here, than is the traditional DMFT index. A different set of weights (4, 1, and 1 for sound, filled, and decayed) was suggested for the construction of the T-Health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, England.
authors.forename: W S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Marcenes
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sheiham
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004245:DMF Index; D003625:Data Collection; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors