Does Gender Contribute to Any Differences in Caries and Periodontal Status in UK Children?

Author(s): Sofia Papadaki, Ioannis Pilalas, Jing Kang

Background: Gender Inequalities In Dental Caries And Periodontal Diseases Have Been Reported Among Adults. However, Literature Focusing On Children Is Scarce. The Aim Was To Examine Whether Gender Affects Caries Experience And Periodontal Status In UK Children Based On The 2013 Children’s Dental Health Survey Dataset (CDHS).

Methods: CDHS Included Children Aged 5, 8, 12 And 15 Years. Dental Caries Experience And Periodontal Status Were Reported Using The Number Of Decayed, Missing And Filled Teeth (DMFT Or Dmft For Permanent Or Primary Dentition At D1 And D3 Thresholds) And The Basic Periodontal Examination (BPE) Score. To Assess Gender Inequalities On DMFT/Dmft And BPE, Zero- Inflated Negative Binomial (ZINB) And Multinomial Logistic Regression Models Were Employed Respectively.

Results: Analyses Included 9,866 Children. No Gender Inequalities In Caries Experience Were Observed For The 5 And 8-Year-Old Groups. However, In 12- And 15-Year-Old Adolescents, Females Had Higher D3MFT Scores Compared To Males (IRR: 1.28, 95% CI: 1.10-1.49 And IRR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.00-1.35). 15-Year-Old Females Had Lower Probability To Be Caries Free (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.45-0.82). With Regards To Periodontal Status, Significant Gender Inequalities Were Not Observed (P>0.05).

Conclusions: In The UK, Female Adolescents Experienced More Carious Lesions Compared To Males When Dental Caries Was Diagnosed Into Dentine (D3MFT). However, 15-Year-Old Males Matched Females In Caries Experience When Early Enamel Lesions Were Considered (D1MFT). No Gender Dissimilarity Was Identified Among British Adolescents Regarding Periodontal Status. The Increased Dental Caries Risk Of Adolescent Females May Indicate The Necessity For Bespoke Oral Health Measures.

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