title: Self-rated oral health and oral health-related factors: the role of social inequality.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The reasons why social inequality is associated with oral health outcomes is poorly understood. This study investigated whether stratification by different measures of socio-economic status (SES) helped elucidate these associations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey data were used from Australia's 2004-06 National Survey of Adult Oral Health. The outcome variable was poor self-rated oral health. Explanatory variables comprised five domains: demographic, economic, general health behaviour, oral health-related quality of life and perceived need for dental care. These explanatory variables were each stratified by three measures of SES: education, income and occupation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall proportion of adults reporting fair or poor oral health was 17.0% (95% CI 16.1, 18.0). Of these, a higher proportion were older, Indigenous, non-Australian born, poorly educated, annual income <$20 000, unemployed, eligible for public dental care, smoked tobacco, avoided food in the last 12 months, experienced discomfort with their dental appearance, experienced toothache or reported a need for dental care. In stratified analyses, a greater number of differences persisted in the oral health impairment and perceived need for dental care domains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Irrespective of the SES measure used, more associations between self-rated oral health and dental-specific factors were observed than associations between self-rated oral health and general factors.
authors.affiliation: Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Adelaide, South Australia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mejia
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Armfield
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Jamieson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059026:Diagnostic Self Evaluation; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009909:Oral Health / Q000592:standards*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014098:Toothache
keywords: Self-rated oral health; demographic; economic; oral health impairment; perceived need for dental care