Journal
COMMUNITY DENTISTRY AND ORAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
Volume 39, Issue 4, Pages 318-324Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2010.00599.x
Keywords
disparities; sealants
Funding
- US Health Resources and Services Administration
- California Dental Association Foundation
- US Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors
- First 5 California
- California Endowment
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Objectives: This study aimed to determine the percent of California's third grade public school children lacking sealants by child and family factors and to measure social disparities for lacking sealants. Methods: The study analyzed data from the California Oral Health Needs Assessment (COHNA) 2004-2005, a complex stratified cluster sample of children (n = 10 450) from 182 randomly selected public elementary schools in California. The dependent variable was absence of sealants in first permanent molars. The independent variables included child race/ethnicity; socioeconomic position (SEP) measured as child's participation in the free or reduced-price lunch program at the individual and school level; acculturation measured as language spoken at home and school level percent of English language learners; and parent functional health literacy measured as correctly following questionnaire instructions. Absolute differences and health disparity indices (i.e. Slope Index of Inequality, Relative Index of Inequality-mean, Absolute Concentration Index) were used to measure absolute and relative disparities. Results: The percent of children lacking sealants was high in all racial/ethnic groups; no child or school level SEP differences in lacking sealants were seen, but significant differences existed by acculturation (child and school level) and parental functional health literacy. Conclusions: NonEnglish language and poor parental functional health literacy are potential barriers that need to be addressed to overcome disparities in sealant utilization.
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