Disparities in the experience and treatment of dental caries among children aged 9-18 years: the cross-sectional study of Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2012-2013).
BACKGROUND
The aim of this study is to examine the association between parental socioeconomic status (SES) and the experience as well as treatment of dental caries among children aged 9 to 18 years.


METHODS
Data from 1253 children aged 9-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2012-2013) were analyzed. Parental socioeconomic status was measured using household income level and maternal educational level. The decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index was used to measure experience of dental caries (DMFT ≥ 1). Non-treatment of dental caries was measured according to whether the participants who experienced dental caries used a dental service at a dental clinic to treat caries during the previous year. Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between parental socioeconomic status and the experience of dental caries as well as the association between parental socioeconomic status and the non-treatment of dental caries among children that have experienced caries.


RESULTS
A total of 808 subjects (64.5 %) experienced dental caries among 1253 participants, and 582 of these 808 subjects (72.0 %) did not receive treatment among those having experience of dental caries. Parental socioeconomic status was not associated with experience of dental caries. However, those from low- and middle-income households were less likely to receive treatment than those from high-income households (odds ratio [OR] 2.11 [95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.16-3.86], OR 2.14 [95 % CI 1.27-3.62]). In particular, those from low- and middle-income households who had regular dental checkups were more likely to have untreated caries than those from high-income households (OR 3.58 [95 % CI 1.25-10.24]).


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates the parental household income-related disparities in children's dental health treatment. Efforts should be made to lower financial barriers to dental health services, particularly among those from low-income households, in order to reduce dental health disparities in the treatment of caries in children.
Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Juyeong
J
Kim
Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Young
Y
Choi
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Department of Biostatistics, Graduate School of Public Health, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Sohee
S
Park
Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Jeong Lim
JL
Kim
Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Tae-Hoon
TH
Lee
Department of Public Health, Graduate School, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.|Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Kyoung Hee
KH
Cho
Institute of Health Services Research, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. ECPARK@yuhs.ac.|Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 120-752, Republic of Korea. ECPARK@yuhs.ac.
Eun-Cheol
EC
Park
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Access to oral care; DMFT; Dental caries; Dental public health; Socioeconomic status