Pediatricians’ assessments of caries risk and need for a dental evaluation in preschool aged children

BMC Pediatrics

Table 1 Percent of children with ECC risk factors and need for evaluation by a dentist

Risk Factor	Total N	Overall % with risk factor	N with non-missing referral data	Non-missing % with risk factor	% Evaluated as needing a referral by whether or not child has risk factor		Unadjusted Odds Ratio
Risk Factor	Total N	Overall % with risk factor	N with non-missing referral data	Non-missing % with risk factor	Has risk factor	Does not have risk factor	Unadjusted Odds Ratio
Behavioral Risk Factors
Teeth not brushed at bedtime	1278	17.92	911	18.22	3.61	6.98	0.50
Teeth not brushed with fluoride	1270	60.00	911	61.03	4.50	9.86	0.43**
Do not drink tap water with fluoride	1267	48.86	904	51.66	6.00	6.86	0.87
Sugary beverages between meals	1271	67.98	904	65.15	8.32	3.17	2.77**
Family dental problems	1270	17.56	902	16.52	11.41	5.31	2.30**
Sleeps with a bottle	1267	16.81	901	15.32	5.80	6.68	0.86
Clinical Risk Factors
Cavitated lesions present	1208	1.90	910	2.09	63.16	5.27	30.78**
Non-cavitated lesions present	1206	7.05	909	6.49	37.29	4.35	13.07**
Enamel defects present	1206	4.56	909	4.51	46.34	4.72	17.42**
Visible plaque present	1206	8.79	909	8.91	29.63	4.11	9.83**
Other oral conditions	1200	1.50	905	1.66	73.33	5.28	49.32**
Child Health
Special Health Care Need	1097	5.20	832	3.97	18.18	5.38	3.91**
Overall risk scale score
High score (> 6)	1133	7.59	877	5.82	52.94	3.63	29.85**

* Statistically different at the p < .05 level; ** statistically different at the p < .01 level, children needing to see the dentist different from other children using univariate logistic regression.

ISSN: 1471-2431