Prevalence and correlates of self-reported state of teeth among schoolchildren in Kerala, India

BACKGROUND: Oral health status in India is traditionally evaluated using clinical indices. There is growing interest to know how subjective measures relate to outcomes of oral health. The aims of the study were to assess the prevalence and correlates of self-reported state of teeth in 12-year-old schoolchildren in Kerala, India. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey data were used. The sample consisted of 838 12-year-old schoolchildren. Data was collected using clinical examination and questionnaire. The clinical oral health status was recorded using Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) and Oral Hygiene Index – Simplified (OHI-S). The questionnaire included questions on sociodemographics, self reports of behaviour, knowledge and oral problems and a single-item measuring self-reported state and satisfaction with appearance of teeth. The Kappa values for test-retest of the questionnaire ranged from 0.55 to 0.97. RESULTS: Twenty-three per cent of the schoolchildren reported the state of teeth as bad. Multivariate logistic regression showed significant associations between schoolchildren who reported to have bad teeth and poor school performance (Odds Ratio (OR) = 2.5), having bad breath (OR = 2.4), food impaction (OR = 1.7) dental visits (OR = 1.6), being dissatisfied with appearance of teeth (OR = 4.2) and caries experience (OR = 1.7). The explained variance was highest when the variables dental visits, bleeding gums, bad breath, food impaction and satisfaction with appearance were introduced into the model (19%). CONCLUSION: A quarter of 12-year-olds reported having bad teeth. The self-reported bad state of teeth was associated with poor school performance, having bad breath and food impaction, having visited a dentist, being dissatisfied with teeth appearance and having caries experience. Information from self-reports of children might help in planning effective strategies to promote oral health

A two-wave interview study of frequency of dental visits and dental complaints

A panel of 268 persons were interviewed twice at an interval of 2 years concerning their visits to dentists and their dental status. The answers they gave on the two occasions agreed well, except for the year of the last visit if it had taken place long ago. This was true both for the people who had gone to the dentist between the interviews and for those who had not. The panel was also asked whether they had any dental complaints. Sixteen percent of them reported complaints at one or both interviews. Complaints were more common among persons who did not often go to the dentist. The persons with complaints did not always get rid of them by going to a dentist. It is concluded that interview data be used for investigating the dental health and behavior of people who do not often go to the dentist, and that dentists are more successful in maintaining good dental health in people who have no dental complaints than in people who report having complaints.</p