Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto de Medicina Social, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2010 Jun;38(3):191-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2010.00535.x. Epub 2010 Mar 26.
To evaluate age as a potential effect modifier of the relation between frequency of dental check-up and oral health.
Data from a Brazilian oral health survey carried out in 2002-2003 was obtained for three age groups: 15-19-year-old (n=16411); 35-44-year-old (n=13269); and 65-74-year-old (n=5 300). Individuals were examined by dentists and followed to an interview. Self-reported time since last dental visit was measured as 'less than 1 year'; 'from 1 to 2 years'; '3 or more years' or 'never'. Outcomes modelled with negative binomial regression were DMFT index and DT, MT and FT.
Visiting the dentist more recently was associated with fewer teeth with untreated dental caries (DT) and more teeth with fillings (FT) across all age groups. Among the 15-19-year-old, the longer the time since last visit the lower the DMFT and MT. On the other hand, among the 35-44 and the 65-74-year-old the longer the time since last dental visit the higher the DMFT and MT, though this trend reverted in the 'never visited' group.
Age modified the effect of dental visits on DMFT and MT. In younger cohorts, the low frequency of dental check-up among those with good oral health may reflect the fact that these young people do not feel they need to go to the dentist very often, while in older cohorts, the current low frequency of dental check-up associated with bad oral health may be a reflection of a lifetime of high disease incidence coupled with access barriers. Questions regarding the time and frequency of dental visits may capture different dimensions of utilization of dental services, and so pooled estimates are not appropriate. Our results may help explaining contrasting results in previously published studies.
评估年龄是否为牙科检查频率与口腔健康之间关系的潜在效应修饰因素。
我们获得了巴西 2002-2003 年进行的一项口腔健康调查的数据，该调查包括三个年龄组：15-19 岁（n=16411）；35-44 岁（n=13269）；和 65-74 岁（n=5300）。由牙医对个体进行检查，并进行随访以进行访谈。自我报告的上次看牙时间测量为“不到 1 年”；“1-2 年”；“3 年或更长时间”或“从未”。采用负二项回归模型对 DMFT 指数和 DT、MT 和 FT 进行建模。
在所有年龄组中，最近看牙与未经治疗的龋齿（DT）牙数减少和补牙（FT）牙数增加有关。在 15-19 岁的人群中，上次就诊后时间越长，DMFT 和 MT 越低。另一方面，在 35-44 岁和 65-74 岁的人群中，上次看牙后时间越长，DMFT 和 MT 越高，但这种趋势在“从未就诊”组中发生逆转。
年龄改变了牙科就诊对 DMFT 和 MT 的影响。在年轻人群中，口腔健康状况良好的人群中牙科检查频率较低，这可能反映了这些年轻人认为自己不需要经常去看牙医的事实，而在老年人群中，目前与口腔健康状况不佳相关的低频率牙科检查可能反映了一生中高疾病发病率和获得服务的障碍。关于牙科就诊时间和频率的问题可能会捕捉到牙科服务利用的不同维度，因此汇总估计是不合适的。我们的结果可能有助于解释先前发表的研究中存在的对比结果。
