Oral health status and knowledge of only and non-only children in China.

Abstract

Objectives To evaluate the oral health status and knowledge of only children (OC) and non-only children (NOC), and to explore potential reasons for the differences.Materials and methods This cross-sectional sampling survey included 3,731 children between the ages of 12 and 15 years. The oral health of the subjects was examined, according to the Basic Methods of Oral Health Survey (fifth edition) recommended by the World Health Organisation, and their eating habits, oral health knowledge and oral habits were recorded. EpiData software was used to input data, and SPSS version 19.0 software was used for analysis and comparison.Results The incidence of dental caries and the decayed, missing and filled teeth index (DMFT) in OC (53.2% and 1.53, respectively) were significantly lower than those in NOC (56.2% and 1.86, respectively) (P <0.05). These values were highest in female NOC (63.7%). Gingival bleeding in NOC (78.9%) was significantly higher than that in OC (74.1%) and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). The pit and fissure sealant rate of the OC (17.9%) was better than that of the NOC (11.0%), and the difference was statistically significant (P <0.05). There were no significant differences in the oral health attitudes between the two groups, while the scores of the OC were higher than that of the NOC on eight questions of oral health knowledge and awareness, with statistically significant differences for five of the questions (P <0.05). In terms of oral behavioural habits and related factors, the OC scored better than the NOC.Conclusions Our results show that the oral health status of NOC, especially female children, is worrying. When formulating health-related policies, it is necessary to consider these inequalities in adolescents and to provide more resources to the relatively vulnerable adolescents.