Influence of gender and social factors on oral health, treatment degree and choice of dental restorative materials in patients from a dental school.

OBJECTIVE

The attitude towards oral health is influenced by gender, the level of education and the social background of the patients The aim of the present study was to determine a possible relationship of gender, the educational level and the oral health as well as the choice of dental restorations.

METHODOLOGY

A total of 2374 outpatients (age: 18-80 years) from a University dental school were assessed. Inclusion criteria were 15 remaining teeth and good general health. In addition to anamnesis data, information concerning educational level and present occupation was collected. The dental assessment included number of teeth, endodontic treatment, type of restorations (root canal fillings, restoration materials) as well as dental panoramic radiographs (OPG).

RESULTS

The female patients demonstrated a statistically significant higher percentage of restoration, more teeth with crowns and more tooth coloured fillings compared to men (P < 0.01). Patients with a higher level of education preferred more expensive restorations, whereas patients with a low level of education exhibited more inexpensive restorations. However, patients with private health insurance showed lower levels of carious lesions.

CONCLUSION

The examined patients showed no significant correlation between educational level and type of dental restorations but female patients had a lower number of teeth and more restoration.