Can type of school be used as an alternative indicator of socioeconomic status in dental caries studies? A cross-sectional study
Open Access
- 2 April 2011
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Medical Research Methodology
- Vol. 11 (1), 37
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-37
Abstract
Background: Despite the importance of collecting individual data of socioeconomic status (SES) in epidemiological oral health surveys with children, this procedure relies on the parents as respondents. Therefore, type of school (public or private schools) could be used as an alternative indicator of SES, instead of collecting data individually. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the variable type of school as an indicator of socioeconomic status as a substitute of individual data in an epidemiological survey about dental caries in Brazilian preschool children. Methods: This study followed a cross-sectional design, with a random sample of 411 preschool children aged 1 to 5 years, representative of Catalão, Brazil. A calibrated examiner evaluated the prevalence of dental caries and parents or guardians provided information about several individual socioeconomic indicators by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. A multilevel approach was used to investigate the association among individual socioeconomic variables, as well as the type of school, and the outcome. Results: When all significant variables in the univariate analysis were used in the multiple model, only mother's schooling and household income (individual socioeconomic variables) presented significant associations with presence of dental caries, and the type of school was not significantly associated. However, when the type of school was used alone, children of public school presented significantly higher prevalence of dental caries than those enrolled in private schools. Conclusions: The type of school used as an alternative indicator for socioeconomic status is a feasible predictor for caries experience in epidemiological dental caries studies involving preschool children in Brazilian context.This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Socioeconomic inequalities in the distribution of dental caries in Brazilian preschool childrenJournal of Public Health Dentistry, 2010
- Trends in dental caries in 1‐ to 4‐year‐old children in a Brazilian city between 1997 and 2008International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 2010
- Assessing the effectiveness of a school‐based oral health promotion programme in Yichang City, ChinaCommunity Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 2009
- Inequalities in dental caries of 5-year-old children in Scotland, 1993-2003European Journal of Public Health, 2009
- Dental caries in 0‐ to 5‐year‐old Brazilian children: prevalence, severity, and associated factorsInternational Journal of Paediatric Dentistry, 2007
- Experiência de cárie dentária em crianças de escolas públicas e privadas de um município com água fluoretadaCadernos de Saude Publica, 2004
- Prevalência e severidade da cárie dentária em escolares de seis e doze anos de idadeRevista de Saúde Pública, 2001
- Relação entre cárie, gengivite e fluorose e nível socioeconômico em escolaresRevista de Saúde Pública, 2001
- The caries decline: a review of reviewsEuropean Journal of Oral Sciences, 1996
- Caries in the preschool child international trendsJournal of Dentistry, 1990