ISSN:
1600-0528
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract This article examines the relationship between fluoridation and socioeconomic status on caries experience, as measured by the dmf index, in 5-yr-old New Zealand children in the city of Dunedin (fluoridated in 1967) and in adjacent non-fluoride communities. The children were subdivided into six socioeconomic status groups (SES 1, professional and managerial - SES 6, unskilled workers), but then for simplicity they were combined to form three groups. A two-way analysis of variance demonstrated that interaction between fluoride history and socioeconomic status was not significant. In all three SES groups, dmf was higher in non-fluoride communities, but the difference was significant only in SES group (5&6) (P 〈 0.01). Caries experience increased with decreasing socioeconomic status in both fluoride and non-fluoride communities, but this effect was only significant between SES groups (1&2) and (3&4) in the fluoridated community (p 〈 0.05), and between SES groups (3&4) and (5&6) in non-fluoride communities (P 〈 0.01). These results are compared with those of similar studies, and it is concluded that so far, the relationship between fluoridation and socioeconomic status on caries experience remains equivocal. A note of caution is sounded regarding the interpretation of such results, and the difficulties faced when comparing studies is discussed.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.1984.tb01401.x
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