title: Dental caries determinants in an adult Portuguese population and a comparison with Norwegian adults.
abstract: The present epidemiologic dental caries study indicates a high number of decayed surfaces (mean, 13.5 +/- 11.8 (SD)) in a Portuguese population of 30- to 39-year-olds from Porto. The most influential determinants for variation in carious surfaces were oral hygiene, gender, salivary buffer capacity, and missing teeth. By entering the most influential independent variables in a final multiple classification analysis, the total explained variance in carious surfaces was 27%. A comparison with results from a similar Norwegian dental health study showed that the biologic factors of importance for number of carious surfaces were the same, whereas the sociocultural determinants differed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Operative Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Eriksen
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bjertness
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002021:Buffers; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway / Q000453:epidemiology; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010512:Periodontal Index; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012463:Saliva / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers