Elsevier

Dental Abstracts

Volume 59, Issue 4, July–August 2014, Page 191
Dental Abstracts

The Big Picture
Gender inequalities in oral health

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.denabs.2014.03.007Get rights and content

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Background

Worldwide data support the finding that persons who have a lower socioeconomic status have worse health than those who come from a higher socioeconomic class. Helping policymakers address the situation requires gathering evidence to reveal the inequalities and their magnitude. Income-related inequalities for four oral health outcomes were measured, with a further analysis of inequalities related to gender among adults in Canada.

Methods

The data were drawn from the 2007 to 2009 Canadian Health Measure Survey (CHMS). A total of 4951 Canadians age 6 to 79 years were evaluated. The oral health indicators were the numbers of decayed, missing, and filled teeth and reports of oral pain over the past year. Equivalized household income was used as a measure of socioeconomic status. The relative concentration index was used to quantify health inequalities for the subjects, and data were analyzed statistically.

Results

Analysis of the data from 2409 men and 2542 women revealed persons from higher socioeconomic circumstances had fewer decayed and missing teeth and were less likely to report dental pain than subjects from lower socioeconomic situations. Persons with higher income levels had more filled teeth than those with lower income levels. The relative concentration indices for the four oral health outcomes revealed that there was a higher concentration of decayed and missing teeth and of reports of oral

Discussion

The data indicate that individuals of lower socioeconomic status tend to have a higher concentration of decayed teeth, missing teeth, and oral pain than those who are more affluent. The more affluent group had a higher concentration of filled teeth. In addition, differences in these measures were noted between men and women, with women of lower socioeconomic status having a significantly greater magnitude of inequalities relative to decayed teeth and missing teeth.

Clinical Significance

The

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Ravaghi V, Quinonez RV, Allison PJ: The magnitude of oral health inequalities in Canada: Findings of the Canadian health measures survey. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 41:490-498, 2013

Reprints available from V Ravaghi, Oral Health & Society Research Unit, Faculty of Dentistry, McGill Univ, 3550 University Ave, Montreal, QC H3A 2A7, Canada; fax: 514 398 8900; e-mail: [email protected]

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