Survey of Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000--2001.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to describe dental caries experience in the primary and permanent dentitions of Maryland schoolchildren in kindergarten and third grade, with an emphasis on untreated disease.


METHODS
Data came from the Survey of the Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000--2001. Outcome variables were measures of dental caries experience for primary and permanent teeth. Dental caries was scored only for lesions that were >0.5 mm, measured with a periodontal probe. Radiographs were not used. Descriptor variables included grade level, gender, race/ethnicity, eligibility for free or reduced meals at school, parent/ guardian education, dental insurance status, and region. The statistical software program SUDAAN was used to produce weighted estimates and account for the complex sampling design.


RESULTS
More than 2 in 10 schoolchildren had a history of dental caries. In children with a history of disease, approximately half of the experience was due to untreated decay. Controlling for confounders, disparities in untreated dental caries were significantly associated with region, race/ethnicity, and parent/guardian education.


CONCLUSIONS
Success in meeting the dental caries treatment needs in children will require attention to multiple family-level, community-level, and system-level barriers, especially among low socioeconomic status populations. Unless barriers are overcome, dental caries disparities will continue in Maryland.
Macek
Mark D
MD
Department of Oral Health Care Delivery, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA. mdm002@dental.umaryland.edu
Wagner
Mark L
ML
Goodman
Harry S
HS
Manz
Michael C
MC
Marrazzo
Ilise D
ID
D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008396:Maryland / Q000453:epidemiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012923:Social Class