title: Oral pain and its covariates: findings of a Canadian population-based study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the prevalence of oral pain in Canada and to identify its covariates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were derived from the 2007-2009 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Data were analyzed for a total of 5284 respondents (2558 males, 2726 females) aged 6-79 years. The outcome variable was self-reported pain in the mouth in the past 12 months. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the relationship between oral pain and 4 sets of covariates: socio-demographic factors, dental service utilization, oral health behaviours and clinical oral health.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Oral pain in the past 12 months was reported by 11.7% of respondents. Oral pain was slightly, but not significantly, more prevalent among females than males (13.6% vs. 10.0%). The lowest and highest prevalence of oral pain were reported by children and young adults, respectively. Multivariate analyses suggested that oral pain was significantly more prevalent among adolescents and adults, those in the lowest income groups, those who avoided a dental professional because of the cost and those with untreated decayed teeth.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Canadians with financial barriers to accessing dental care and those with untreated dental decay were at risk of having dental pain. These findings have important implications for the provision of dental care in Canada.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Dentistry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. vahid.ravaghi@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ravaghi
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quiñonez
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Allison
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics*; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014098:Toothache / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult