Abstract
BackgroundDental caries is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases affecting a large portion of children in the United States. The prevalence of childhood dental caries in Kentucky is among the highest in the nation. The purposes of this study are to (1) compare sociodemographic differences between caries and no caries groups and (2) investigate factors associated with untreated dental caries among children who visited a mobile dental clinic in South Central Kentucky.MethodsStudy subjects were children aged 6 to 15 years who participated in the school-based dental sealant program through the mobile dental clinic operated by the Institute for Rural Health at Western Kentucky University between September 2006 and May 2011 (n = 2,453). Descriptive statistics were calculated for sociodemographic factors (age, gender, race/ethnicity, insurance status, and urban versus rural residential location) and caries status. We used chi-square tests to compare sociodemographic differences of children stratified by caries and no caries status as well as three levels of caries severity. We developed a logistic regression model to investigate factors associated with untreated dental caries while controlling for sociodemographic characteristics.ResultsThe proportion of children having untreated dental caries was 49.7% and the mean number of untreated dental caries was 2.0. The proportion of untreated dental caries was higher in older children, children with no insurance and living in rural residential locations, and caries severity was also higher in these groups. Odds ratio indicated that older ages, not having private insurance (having only public, government-sponsored insurance or no insurance at all) and rural residential location were associated with having untreated dental caries after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics of children.ConclusionsUntreated dental caries was more likely to be present in older children living in rural areas without insurance. Health interventionists may use this information and target rural children without having proper insurance in order to reduce geographic disparities in untreated dental caries in South Central Kentucky.
Highlights
IntroductionThe purposes of this study are to (1) compare sociodemographic differences between caries and no caries groups and (2) investigate factors associated with untreated dental caries among children who visited a mobile dental clinic in South Central Kentucky
Dental caries is one of the most common chronic childhood diseases affecting a large portion of children in the United States
We investigated the sociodemographic differences of children by caries status as well as the degree of caries severity, and examined factors associated with untreated dental caries among children living in South Central Kentucky
Summary
The purposes of this study are to (1) compare sociodemographic differences between caries and no caries groups and (2) investigate factors associated with untreated dental caries among children who visited a mobile dental clinic in South Central Kentucky. Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease affecting 20% of preschoolers, 50% of second graders and nearly 75% of 15 year olds in Kentucky [9]. Rural residents in Kentucky are less likely to have dental insurance, compared to urban residents, and not having any form of dental insurance is associated with childhood dental caries [10,11]. Various social and physical barriers to oral health care, such as no means of transportation to dental clinics and dentists not willing to accept Medicaid-insured children, are important issues related to poor dental health [14,15,16]
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