Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Teeth and Dental Care - Evidence from a Population-based Study in Indonesia.

PURPOSE

Education is well-known as a determinant of oral health and dental behaviours in high-income countries, but much less is known for countries with lower incomes. This study aimed to identify the extent to which education affects oral health and dental behaviours in Indonesia.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study used data from the Indonesian Basic Health Survey 2013. From this nationally representative sample of 945,057 people 5-100 years old, a series of mixed-effects Poisson regression models that accounted for sampling weights estimated the effect of educational attainment on edentulism, dental care utilisation, and toothbrushing behaviour.

RESULTS

Consistent educational gradients were found for all outcomes and across all model specifications. People without a formal educational degree had a 1.03 (95% CI: 1.03-1.04) times higher risk of not utilising any dental care, a 3.15 (95% CI: 2.47-4.02) times higher risk of being edentulous, and a 15.6 (95% CI: 12.76-19.02) times higher risk of having low toothbrushing frequency than people having a university degree or higher.

CONCLUSIONS

Stark and consistent educational gradients were observed in the dentate status, dental services utilisation, and toothbrushing in Indonesia. Educational inequalities were much larger for toothbrushing behaviours than for dental care utilisation. Intervention points for health policy should urgently prioritise public health interventions to promote overall educational attainment, preventive services, and dental care targeted at those with lower educational attainment.