The effects of socioeconomic status and dental attendance on dental caries' experience, and treatment patterns in 5-year-old children

Objective To compare the dental caries' experience and treatment received by 5-year-old children registered with a GDP. Design Retrospective case note review of all 5-year-old children registered with seven GDPs. Setting The study was carried out in 1996/7 in Wirral and North Cheshire in the north west of England. Subjects and materials Clinical, demographic and attendance data were collected from each practice using a common data abstraction form. Subjects were categorised according to regular/irregular attenders, and into five groups ranging from affluent to deprived using the Super Profiles geodemographic classification. The relationships between disease experience, treatment, attendance and socioeconomic status were compared using cross-tabulations, t-tests and multiple linear regression. Results The dental records of 430 5-year-old children were available for analysis. Irregular attenders had significantly higher dmft, dt and mt, and fewer filled teeth. Only 29% of disease experience of regular attenders was treated by restoration. Both socioeconomic status and visiting behaviour exerted significant independent effects on dmft, but dental attendance alone had a significant effect on ft. Conclusions Significant inequalities remain in the disease experience and service use of young children. Regularly attending children have less than a third of their diseased teeth restored. Consensus is needed across the profession on the care of the diseased deciduous dentition.