The extent of the relationship of dental care and dental status to social class

Abstract

Interviews and dental inspection were conducted ina random sample of 300 adults from a city and the surrounding rural districts. Having a family dentist who had been seen during the two years preceding the interview, was ten times less common in the lowest of three social classes than in the higher. None or only one daily toothbrushing is reported five times more frequently in the lowest social class than in the upper class, and complete dentures are five times more frequent in the lowest class. On the other hand, partial dentures are found twice as frequently in the upper class than in the middle or lower classes, indicating more differentiated services by the dentists.