title: The associations of socioeconomic status and social capital with gingival bleeding among schoolchildren.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to assess the associations of gingival bleeding with individual and community social variables among schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study evaluated a representative, multistage, random sample of 1,134 12-year-old schoolchildren from Santa Maria, a city in southern Brazil. The participants were examined clinically, and full-mouth gingival bleeding was recorded according to the Community Periodontal Index criteria (scored as healthy or bleeding). The children's parents or guardians answered questions regarding their socioeconomic status and social capital, and an assessment of the associations was performed using multilevel Poisson regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of gingival bleeding was 96.21 percent. The multilevel adjusted assessment revealed that socioeconomic, clinical, and social capital variables at the individual level were associated with higher levels of gingival bleeding. Children whose fathers had a low educational level, children who had dental plaque and dental crowding, and children who never/almost never attended religious meetings exhibited significantly higher levels of gingival bleeding than their counterparts. This social gradient remained significant even after adjusting for contextual-level covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that the socioeconomic status and features of social capital are associated with the levels of gingival bleeding among schoolchildren.
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernanda
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tomazoni
authors.affiliation: Unit of Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Mario Vianna
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Vettore
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabricio Batistin
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Zanatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tuchtenhagen
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos Heitor Cunha
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Moreira
authors.affiliation: Department of Stomatology, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thiago Machado
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Ardenghi
mesh_terms: D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005884:Gingival Hemorrhage / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012494:Sampling Studies; D066270:Social Capital; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: epidemiology; gingivitis; oral health; socioeconomic factors