The oral health of a group of 15-17 year old British school children of different ethnic origin
Booth, V.; Ashley, F.
Community Dental Health 6(3): 195-205
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 0265-539X PMID: 2804757 Document Number: 336908
The influence of ethnic origin on the oral health of a group of 472 British schoolchildren aged 15-17 years attending two adjacent schools was investigated. Ethnic origin was assessed as European (E; n = 197), Afro-Caribbean (AC; n = 97) and Asian (As; n = 140) leaving 38 subjects of other or mixed origin. Plaque, bleeding on probing and subgingival retentive factors, together with probing depths and attachment loss were recorded at the four approximal sites of teeth 16, 11, 26, 36, 31, 46. DMFT scores were collected for the whole mouth. Socio-economic status was assessed using a Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods (ACORN). Multiple regression analysis indicated that ethnic origin had a significant influence on plaque, subgingival calculus, gingivitis, pockets and DMFT scores. The overall prevalence of periodontitis was 11.2 per cent; European, Afro-Caribbean and Asian groups had prevalences of 3, 21 and 14 per cent respectively.