Dental News - Dental health inequalities most apparent in young children

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 20. April 2018

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden: Despite the fact that the Swedish government has provided free dental care to children and young people for decades, research has shown that large discrepancies in dental health exist. According to the results of a recent Swedish study at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, inequalities in dental health are most evident in 3- to 6-year-old children. Especially preschoolers from socio-economically disadvantaged families showed a higher risk of dental caries compared with age cohorts with better living conditions.

The study formed part of the thesis of Dr Ann-Catrin André Kramer, who works for the Public Dental Service in Västra Götaland County. Her research investigated the dental health of 300,988 individuals aged 3–19 years in the Västra Götaland County.

The research showed that children who already had cavities when they were 3 years old had developed considerably more caries by the time they turned 6, compared with children who were cavity-free at the start of the study. Only half of the children included in the study showed no signs of caries in their primary teeth by the time they reached 6 years of age.

Ten per cent of the 7- to 9-year-olds included in the research exhibited caries in their permanent teeth, and two-thirds of the older teenagers had cavities or fillings. The results of the thesis indicate that children in families with limited socio-economic resources were most at risk of developing caries. This was especially true of preschool-aged children.

“This situation is very demanding for both patients and dentists, and we need to consider how we can reach the groups who are most in need of dental care. Perhaps we can further develop inter-professional efforts and work with other healthcare professionals and schools to remedy this problem. Children should be taught that brushing their teeth is every bit as important as washing their hands, which is something they learn to do at a young age,” said André Kramer.

The doctoral thesis is titled On Dental Caries and Socioeconomy in Swedish Children and Adolescents—Clinical and Register—Based Studies and appears in the doctoral theses from Sahlgrenska Academy collection.

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