Association between unmet dental needs and school absenteeism because of illness or injury among US school children and adolescents aged 6-17 years, 2011-2012

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:72

Article

Agaku, Israel T.¹  Olutola, Bukola G.²  Adisa, Akinyele O.³  Obadan, Enihomo M.⁴  Vardavas, Constantine I.¹ 

[1] Harvard Univ, Sch Publ Hlth, Ctr Global Tobacco Control, Dept Social & Behav Sci, Boston, MA 02115 USA

[2] Univ Pretoria, Sch Hlth Syst & Publ Hlth, ZA-0002 Pretoria, South Africa

[3] Univ Ibadan, Dept Oral Pathol, Coll Med, Ibadan, Nigeria

[4] Harvard Univ, Sch Dent Med, Dept Oral Hlth Policy & Epidemiol, Boston, MA 02115 USA

关键词: Dental caries;    Toothache;    Absenteeism;    Illness;    Schools;    Unmet dental need;    Dental care;    Preventive dentistry;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.12.037

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Background. We assessed the prevalence of dental disease among U.S. children and adolescents aged 6-17 years, as well as the impact of unmet dental needs on school absenteeism because of illness/injury within the past 12 months. Methods. Data were from the 2011/2012 National Survey of Children's Health (n = 65,680). Unmet dental need was defined as lack of access to appropriate and timely preventive or therapeutic dental healthcare when needed within the past 12 months. The impact of unmet dental needs on school absenteeism was measured using a multivariate generalized linear model with Poisson probability distribution (p < 0.05). Results. Within the past 12 months, 21.8% (10.8 million) of all U.S. children and adolescents aged 6-17 years had a toothache, decayed teeth, or unfilled cavities. Of all U.S. children and adolescents aged 6-17 years, 15.8% (7.8 million) reported any unmet dental need (i.e., preventive and/or therapeutic dental need) within the past 12 months. The mean number of days of school absence because of illness/injury was higher among students with an unmet therapeutic dental need in the presence of a dental condition compared to those reporting no unmet dental need (A = 025; p < 0.001). Conclusions. Enhanced and sustained efforts are needed to increase access to dental services among underserved U.S. children and adolescents. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free