Self-reported oral health, dental self-care and dental service use among New Zealand secondary school students: findings from the Youth 07 study

Authors: Areai DM et al

Summary: Data from the cross-sectional Youth 07: National Survey of the Health and Wellbeing of New Zealand Secondary School Students were explored to describe secondary school students’ use of dental services and determine the nature and extent of any inequities by deprivation status and ethnicity. The researchers also examined students’ toothbrushing practices and self-reported dental pain experience, past restorative treatment and tooth loss. The survey involved a representative sample of 9,098 secondary school students aged 13–17 years from 96 secondary schools across New Zealand. Seventy-two per cent of participants reported a dental visit in the previous 12 months; those who were more likely to have done so included females, those who brushed at least twice daily, and those who had been kept awake at night by dental pain. Those who were less likely included those identifying with Māori, Pacific or Asian ethnicity (and those in the ‘Other’ ethnic category) relative to European students, and those residing in medium- or high-deprivation areas relative to those in low-deprivation areas. One in seven participants reported having lost a tooth due to oral disease. Having had a tooth filled was reported by almost three-quarters of the sample, and having been kept awake by dental pain at night was reported by just over one in five. Almost two-thirds reported brushing their teeth twice or more in the previous 24 hours, and a small minority had not brushed at all.

Reference: N Z Dent J. 2011;107(4):121-6.