A longitudinal study of dental health from the age of 14 to 41.
The aim of present study was to longitudinally follow dental health from the age of 14 to 41. Originally an entire age group attending one of the compulsory schools in the city of Orebro, Sweden was selected and 115 children born in 1962 were included in the study. At the last examination 27 years later, 73 (63%) individuals, 35 males and 38 females, could still be located and were willing to participate. The drop out analysis did not show any statistical difference between the drop-outs and this final material. All participants had experienced a comprehensive whole population based preventive dental care, free of charge, during the first 19 years of their lives, and after that the increment of dental diseases had been limited. Only two individuals were diagnosed with chronic periodontitis at 41, and 70% of all DMFS registered at 41 were present already at 19. This positive development during adulthood seemed to be unrelated to socio-economic status. In addition, the dental health at 41 did not seem to be obviously influenced by if the participants, as adults, had paid yearly visits to the dentist or not, and there was no evidence supporting that regularly seeing a dental hygienist or using daily inter-dental cleaning would improve dental health. The most obvious difference in dental health at 41 was due to gender where e.g. the experience of proximal caries and bleeding after probing were twice as frequent in males as in females. Based on the results of the present study it can be concluded that uncritically abandoning whole population preventive strategies might not be in the best interest of public dental health. Furthermore, if already existing dental care resources should be reallocated for a better long-term dental health investment it should be on the expense of the young adults to the benefit of the young teenagers (as population sub-groups) and not the other way around based on individual indications.
Crossner
Claes-Göran
CG
Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway. claes.crossner@fagmed.uit.no
Unell
Lennart
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D019140:Dental Care for Children; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005792:General Practice, Dental; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D010512:Periodontal Index; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology