title: Impact of rurality on the oral health status of 6-year-old children from central Chile: the EpiMaule study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was the assessment of dental caries and the gingival status of 6-year-old children living in the Maule region, Chile's most rural region, and to determine if rurality was related to a higher prevalence of oral conditions.
  
  
  METHODS
  A representative sample of 485 children aged 6 years was examined using WHO methods. Children were chosen from schools belonging to urban and rural districts of the region. Caries status was obtained by deft (decayed, extracted, filled teeth), DMFT (decayed, missing, filled teeth) and SiC (Significant Caries) indexes. To assess gingival health status, the oral hygiene (OHI) and the gingival index (GI) were used. Urban and rural children data were compared using student's t-test at p < 0.05.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall caries prevalence was 80.62%. Rural children showed higher prevalence (p < 0.0001) than urban 6-year-olds, with 88.3% and 69.9%, respectively. The deft (decayed, extracted, filled teeth) index was 4.63 for the region, with 5.74 for rural and 3.09 for urban districts (p < 0.05). The SiC index was 10.23 for rural and 7.13 for urban children (p < 0.05). Mean OHI score was 1.44, but rural children had higher OHI: 1.49 compared with 1.37 for urban 6-year-olds (p < 0.0001). The GI of the region was 1.37, but no differences were detected between rural and urban children (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Children from the Maule region in Chile have a severely deteriorated oral health, higher than Chile's mean. Rural are significantly more affected than urban children. A special focus on rural communities when designing oral health policies is strongly suggested.
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Odontología, University of Talca, Talca, Chile. giacaman@utalca.cl.
authors.forename: Rodrigo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Giacaman
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Odontología, University of Talca, Talca, Chile. ipbustos@utalca.cl.
authors.forename: Ivonne P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Bustos
authors.affiliation: Escuela de Odontología, University of Talca, Talca, Chile. vally_bl2001@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bravo-León
authors.affiliation: University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. rmarino@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Rodrigo J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Mariño
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009911:Oral Hygiene Index; D010512:Periodontal Index; D015995:Prevalence; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012574:Schools / Q000145:classification; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012923:Social Class; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014944:World Health Organization
keywords: Dentistry; Determinants of Health; Epidemiology; Medical; Oral health; Paediatrics; Public Health; Researcher; South America