Survey of dental sealants in Maryland third graders.

The Survey of the Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000-2001 was used to describe dental sealant prevalence among third-grade public schoolchildren in Maryland. The presence/absence of dental sealants on permanent molars was scored according to visual criteria. Descriptor variables included gender, race/ethnicity, parent/guardian level of education, and dental insurance status. Overall, less than 25% of third-grade Maryland schoolchildren had dental sealants, including 16% of non-Hispanic black children, 11% of children from families with less than 12 years of education, and 17% of those without dental insurance. Controlling for co-variates, non-Hispanic blacks were 2.2 times as likely to lack dental sealants as their peers, compared with children from families with less than 12 years of education (2.7 times as likely) and those without dental insurance (1.9 times as likely).

Dental visits and access to dental care among Maryland schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: Regular dental visits afford an opportunity for dentists to provide preventive services and to diagnose and treat disease. Not all children, however, have equal access to these services. METHODS: The authors conducted this study to describe access to and utilization of oral health care services for Maryland schoolchildren in kindergarten and third grade. They obtained data from a questionnaire filled out by parents or guardians participating in the Survey of the Oral Health Status of Maryland School Children, 2000-2001 (N = 2,642). Outcome variables included having a dental visit in the last year, prophylaxis in the last year, usual source of medical care and usual source of dental care. Descriptor variables included region, grade, race/ethnicity, eligibility for free or reduced-fee meals, parents' or guardians' education and dental insurance status. RESULTS: Overall, general dental visit and dental prophylaxis visit rates were similar (74.1 and 71.3 percent, respectively). Schoolchildren, however, were more likely to have had a usual source of medical care than of dental care (96.0 and 82.9 percent, respectively). Third graders, those ineligible for free or reduced-fee meals and those with some dental insurance coverage were more likely to have received a prophylaxis in the last year and were more likely to have a usual source of dental care. Non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black schoolchildren also were more likely to have had a usual source of dental care than were Hispanics. CONCLUSIONS: Schoolchildren most likely to have received regular preventive dental care were those who had parents or guardians with financial resources. Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provide safety nets, but these programs could be improved. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Dentistry's challenge is to determine which characteristics are unique to those who visit the dentist regularly and use this information to help meet the needs of the underserved.

Dental pain in Maryland school children.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the lifetime prevalence of dental pain among Maryland's school age children. METHODS: Data come from the Survey of Oral Health Status of Maryland School Children conducted in 2000-01. History of dental pain, as reported by an adult respondent, was analyzed for 2,411 kindergarten and third grade students. Percentages with their 95% confidence interval were calculated to obtain state representation of the distribution of dental pain by sociodemographic characteristics and caries status. RESULTS: Overall, 11.8 percent of Maryland school age children in kindergarten and third grade have had some dental pain. Among children who have had caries, the report of dental pain increases to 28.2 percent. Children from families with low educational attainment or eligible for free or reduced meals or covered by Medicaid were more likely to have experienced dental pain. CONCLUSION: Almost a third of Maryland kindergartens and third graders who have caries have experienced dental pain.

Survey of Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000--2001.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe dental caries experience in the primary and permanent dentitions of Maryland schoolchildren in kindergarten and third grade, with an emphasis on untreated disease. METHODS: Data came from the Survey of the Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000--2001. Outcome variables were measures of dental caries experience for primary and permanent teeth. Dental caries was scored only for lesions that were >0.5 mm, measured with a periodontal probe. Radiographs were not used. Descriptor variables included grade level, gender, race/ethnicity, eligibility for free or reduced meals at school, parent/ guardian education, dental insurance status, and region. The statistical software program SUDAAN was used to produce weighted estimates and account for the complex sampling design. RESULTS: More than 2 in 10 schoolchildren had a history of dental caries. In children with a history of disease, approximately half of the experience was due to untreated decay. Controlling for confounders, disparities in untreated dental caries were significantly associated with region, race/ethnicity, and parent/guardian education. CONCLUSIONS: Success in meeting the dental caries treatment needs in children will require attention to multiple family-level, community-level, and system-level barriers, especially among low socioeconomic status populations. Unless barriers are overcome, dental caries disparities will continue in Maryland.

Self-reported awareness of unrestored dental caries. Survey of the Oral Health Status of Maryland Schoolchildren, 2000--2001.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess and compare parental awareness of unrestored dental caries needs in a schoolchildren population according to socioeconomic status. METHODS: Subjective and normative unrestored dental caries data of kindergarten and third-grade children were collected from parental awareness questionnaires and clinical examinations, respectively, used in a 2000--2001 statewide survey of Maryland schoolchildren. Descriptive, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed to assess awareness of unrestored dental caries. Parental perceived need also was compared to clinical findings of unrestored dental caries. RESULTS: Actual (clinically assessed) unrestored dental caries (21%) was found to be 2 times the level of self-reported awareness of dental caries (11%). Those most likely to have significantly incorrect awareness of unrestored dental caries were: (1) low-income populations; (2) residents of the Maryland Eastern Shore. Sensitivity was 34% and specificity 96% in comparing self-assessed, unrestored dental caries need with the clinical findings. CONCLUSIONS: An incorrect perceived oral health need is high in poorer populations and may serve as a barrier to their achieving optimal oral health, given that disease prevalence is higher and access to oral health care services is lower in this population group.