Factors associated with dental admissions for children aged under 5 years in Western Australia.
OBJECTIVE
There is limited literature describing dental admissions in preschool children. This paper describes dental hospital admissions and associated factors in children aged under 5 years.


METHODS
This study uses total population data for Western Australia, which link midwives' information with birth defects, intellectual disability, hospital admissions and deaths. Children born 1980-1995 (n = 383,665) were followed until 5 years. Intellectual disability data were available for children born between 1983 and 1992. Admission data including length of stay were examined.


METHODS
Admissions for each relevant 9th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification (ICD-9) principal diagnosis category and factors associated with having had a dental admission (all categories) and ICD-9 521 (mostly caries) in particular were investigated.


RESULTS
There were 11,523 dental admissions involving 10,493 children. Of all dental admissions, 76% were in ICD-9 category 521, which included admissions for dental caries. After adjusting for confounders, children with intellectual disability (odds ratio 1.92; 95% CI 1.63 to 2.27) and birth defect 1.85 (1.68 to 2.05) were more likely to have had a dental admission. Children living in a region without fluoridated water were also more likely to have had a dental admission 2.16 (1.94 to 2.40). Males were more likely to have had a dental admission 1.16 (1.08 to 1.25), as were children with an indigenous mother 1.17 (1.02 to 1.34). Investigation of ICD-9 521 admissions showed associations similar to those described above except for mother being indigenous, which was associated with reduced likelihood of admission.


CONCLUSIONS
Given the burden of dental admissions in young children, these findings highlight the need for improved oral care for children.
Slack-Smith
L
L
School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia. Linda.Slack-Smith@uwa.edu.au
Colvin
L
L
Leonard
H
H
Kilpatrick
N
N
Bower
C
C
Brearley Messer
L
L
D002675:Child, Preschool; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019140:Dental Care for Children / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005457:Fluoridation; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012307:Risk Factors; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology