Oral health status of San Francisco public school kindergarteners 2000-2005.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of dental caries and oral health disparities in San Francisco kindergarten public school children from 2000-2005.


METHODS
The San Francisco Department of Public Health in partnership with the San Francisco Dental Society and assistance from the National Dental Association, has been conducting annual dental screenings of kindergarten children enrolled in the San Francisco Unified School District since 2000. Outcomes assessed from this series of cross-sectional screenings included prevalence of caries experience, untreated caries, treatment needs, and caries severity by child's sex, race/ethnicity, residential zip code, and a proxy for socioeconomic status.


RESULTS
Of 76 eligible schools, 62-72 participated, and 86-92% of enrolled children (n=3,354-3,527) were screened yearly. Although there was a small, significant decrease over the time period, in 2005, 50.1% of children had caries experience; 28.8% had untreated caries and 7.6% had urgent treatment needs. Each year caries prevalence was greatest for Asian children, those attending schools with > 50% children eligible for the free or reduced-price meal program, and children living in zip codes in and around Chinatown and San Francisco's southern border.


CONCLUSIONS
Despite signs of improvement, caries remains a public health problem especially in Asian and Hispanic children, and children living in certain sections of San Francisco.
Chung
Lisa H
LH
University of California San Francisco, USA. Lisa.Chung@ucsf.edu
Shain
Sara G
SG
Stephen
Samantha M
SM
Weintraub
Jane A
JA
D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001213:Asian / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009909:Oral Health; D015995:Prevalence; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012495:San Francisco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data