Socioeconomic Status and Selected Behavioral Determinants as Risk Factors for Dental Caries

• Published in: Journal of dental education Vol. 65; no. 10; pp. 1009 - 1016
• Main Authors: Reisine, Susan T., Psoter, Walter
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Dental Education Association 01-10-2001
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; baby bottle use; Bottle Feeding - adverse effects; Child; Child, Preschool; dental caries; Dental Caries - epidemiology; Dental Caries - etiology; Dental Caries - prevention & control; Dentistry; early childhood caries; health disparities; Humans; Incidence; Infant; Middle Aged; Poverty; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Social Class; socioeconomic status; toothbrushing; Toothbrushing - utilization; United States - epidemiology; United States
• ISSN: 0022-0337; 1930-7837
• DOI: 10.1002/j.0022-0337.2001.65.10.tb03443.x

The purpose of this review is to summarize a systematic review evaluating the evidence regarding the association between the incidence and prevalence of dental caries and: 1) socioeconomic status; 2) toothbrushing; and 3) the use of the baby bottle. Literature was drawn from two databases, Medline and EmBase. Because of limited resources, we did not conduct hand‐searching or search unpublished studies. Three thousand one hundred thirty‐eight s were identified, 358 reviewed, and 272 papers included in the systematic review. There is fairly strong evidence for an inverse relationship between SES and the prevalence of caries among children less than twelve years of age. The evidence for this relationship is weaker for older children and for adults because of the relatively small number of studies and methodological limitations. There is weak evidence that toothbrushing prevents dental caries, but it is uncertain whether the effects of toothbrushing are due to use of a fluoride dentifrice or from mechanical removal of plaque. Finally, the evidence for the relationship between prolonged use of the baby bottle and dental caries is weak. More studies directly aimed at analyzing the relationship between SES and dental caries are needed to identify factors associated with SES that contribute to dental caries risk. Toothbrushing should continue to be recommended as a measure to prevent dental caries, particularly using a fluoride dentifrice. Recommendations regarding bottle use should continue until clear evidence about the relationship between prolonged bottle use and dental caries can be obtained.