title: Ethnic disparities in the oral health of three- to four-year-old children in East London.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To report ethnic differences related to caries experience among three- to four-year-old children living in three of the most deprived boroughs in the UK in Inner North East London: Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Newham.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional survey used a cluster sampling study design following the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry protocol. Twenty nurseries from each borough were randomly selected and all three- to four-year-old children in selected nurseries were invited to participate (n = 2,434). Calibrated dentists examined children. Demographic information was obtained from schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One thousand, two hundred and eighty-five children were examined in 60 nurseries (response rate = 52.8%). Twenty-four percent of three- to four-year-old children had caries experience (mean dmft = 0.92). Few children (2.1%) had filled teeth. Children living in Hackney had significantly lower dmft scores (mean = 0.63) than children living in Newham (mean = 1.06) and Tower Hamlets (mean = 1.06). White European (mean = 1.91), Bangladeshi (mean = 1.05) and Pakistani (mean = 1.11) children had a significantly higher number of untreated carious teeth than White British children (mean = 0.56).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preschool children from a White Eastern European, Bangladeshi and Pakistani background are likely to experience significantly poorer oral health than their White British counterparts. These findings have profound implications for commissioning dental services and oral health promotion.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, UK. w.marcenes@qmul.ac.uk
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Marcenes
authors.forename: V E
authors.initials: VE
authors.lastname: Muirhead
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Redshaw
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001459:Bangladesh / Q000208:ethnology; D044383:Black People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003804:Dentin / Q000473:pathology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005061:Europe, Eastern / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008131:London / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010154:Pakistan / Q000208:ethnology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data