Social factors and dental health in the urban adolescents of Isfahan, Iran.

AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the dental caries and oral health behavior status of urban adolescents in Iran. Also it assesses the influence of the socioeconomic background on their oral health outcomes.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the students living in the city of Isfahan, Iran. 597 adolescents by 13 to 17 years old participated in the study. The asset-based wealth index, household income and parents' educational history were the indicators of socioeconomic status. Data on tooth brushing frequency and smoking experience were collected, and the adolescents were examined for their dental health status. The index of DMFT was recorded by two calibrated examiners considering the criteria of World Health Organization. Bivariate analysis and multivariate regressions were employed to explore the association between dental caries status and socioeconomic variables.

RESULTS: The DMFT mean (SD) of the study population was 2.79(2.7) with attributable 50, 4 and 46 percent to D, M and F components and 26% caries- free prevalence. Nearly 19% of the students presented twice daily brushing and 3% of respondents had smoking experience. Dental caries did not show any linear relationship with the social indicators when the DMFT was modeled by the wealth index, parents' educational level and family income adjusted for age and gender. Without adjustment, lower income has increased the chance of untreated tooth decay, 2.5 times among the students.

CONCLUSION: Despite the supporting findings on inequalities in oral health, this study did not show a direct association between socio economic backgrounds of the adolescents with their dental health/disease. The hypothesized balanced risk exposure is considered to justify the results, but it needs to be studied by further comprehensive analysis.