Deprivation and dental caries status of 5-year-old children in Scotland.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the dental caries status of 5-year-old children in Scotland and deprivation, as assessed by the Carstairs score and its DEPCAT categories, which are composite descriptors of socio-economic status.


METHODS
Anonymous records, including postcode sector of residence, from the 1995/96 Scottish Health Board's Dental Epidemiological Programme 5-year-old survey were linked though a multi-stage process to their corresponding Carstairs scores and DEPCAT categories. The data were analysed to investigate the relationship between d3t, mt, ft, d3mft, proportion 'free' of caries experience and socio-economic status for Scotland.


RESULTS
When analysed by DEPCAT the mean d3mft ranged from 1.48 for children resident in the most affluent postcode areas (DEPCAT 1) to 4.87 for those in DEPCAT 7. The mean d3mft from the 1995/96 survey of 5-year-old children in Scotland was 2.93. For the percentage 'free' of caries experience (d3mft = 0) the findings in this study ranged from 62.4% (DEPCAT 1) to 19.8% (DEPCAT 7). The d3t and mt components of d3mft and mean d3mft showed a strong positive association with increasing deprivation. The proportion of 5-year-olds experiencing decay was also significantly associated with a more deprived Carstairs score. The f component showed no association with deprivation. The Care Index (ft/d3mft x 100%) ranged from 10.8% (DEPCAT 1) to 2.9% (DEPCAT 7).


CONCLUSIONS
There was a striking association between increasing deprivation and increasing caries experience. Children from the most deprived areas had significantly more untreated decay and missing teeth. In a population with low levels of restorative intervention, no association was found between deprivation and the amount of restorative care received by Scottish 5-year-old children.
Sweeney
P C
PC
Department of Dental Public Health, Argyll and Clyde Health Board, Paisley, Scotland. lreay@udef.gla.ac.uk
Nugent
Z
Z
Pitts
N B
NB
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003710:Demography; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011204:Poverty Areas; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012606:Scotland / Q000453:epidemiology; D017062:Small-Area Analysis; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric