Socioeconomic Factors, Dental Service Use and Clusters of Oral Health Conditions in Brazilian Five-Year-Old Children.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the association of sociodemographic characteristics and dental service utilisation with clusters of oral health conditions among Brazilian five-year-old children.

METHODS

Secondary data on five-year-old children (N = 4354) from the Brazilian National Oral Health Survey (SB Brasil 2023) were analysed. Sociodemographic variables included sex, skin colour, family income, conditional cash transfer programme, household crowding, number of durable goods, and maternal education. Oral health measures included dental caries (measured using dmft), clinical consequences of untreated dental caries (measured using pufa index), malocclusion, and perceived oral health. Dental service utilisation was assessed based on dental service seeking, reason for the last dental visit, and satisfaction with dental care. Latent Profile Analysis was performed to identify clusters of oral health conditions. Associations between the study variables were evaluated through multinomial regression analysis.

RESULTS

Four distinct clusters emerged. Two clusters with greater levels of dental caries and worst perceived oral health (24.9% and 9.9%) were associated with poor family income, conditional cash transfer programme, higher household crowding, and lower maternal education. Children in clusters with greater oral health needs were more likely to have never visited a dentist, to seek care due to pain, and to report poorer experiences with dental services. Preventive dental care was more common among clinically healthy children, whereas toothache and elective dental treatment were associated with clusters comprising children with higher levels of caries and more restored teeth.

CONCLUSIONS

Clusters of oral health conditions in early childhood were socially patterned. Poor dental service utilisation was linked to worst clusters of oral health conditions.