Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2024 Dec;52(6):900-910. doi: 10.1111/cdoe.12996. Epub 2024 Jul 23.
The aim of the study was to assess patterns of longitudinal changes in caries status among school-going children in Singapore.
Dental records for a single cohort of students who received dental examinations in six standard examination years between 2009 and 2017 were analysed (n = 24 699). Group-based trajectory modelling with a zero-inflated Poisson distribution was carried out to determine dental caries trajectories in the permanent dentition. Associations between sociodemographic factors and trajectory group membership were assessed using multinomial logistic regression.
The predicted population distribution across the four caries trajectory groups identified was 65.0% ('none'), 16.8% ('low'), 14.8% ('medium') and 3.4% ('high'). The 'none' trajectory group had a decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) score of 0 throughout the 8 years. Higher baseline DMFT counts and nonlinear increases in DMFT scores were noted for the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups. The correlation coefficient between DMFT counts in years 6 and 8 was 0.91, as compared to 0.77 between baseline and year 1. Factors associated with the 'high' caries trajectory include lower socio-economic status, female gender, Chinese race (compared to the Indian race), enrolment in primary schools in the Eastern and Western regions of Singapore, and enrolment in public secondary schools.
Under a nationwide school dental service, four trajectory patterns of caries counts in the permanent dentition were identified over 8 years. Among students in the 'low', 'medium' and 'high' trajectory groups, greater caries increment was noted during the transition from primary to secondary school. The correlation between DMFT counts in successive examinations was stronger in older than younger ages.
本研究旨在评估新加坡学龄儿童龋齿状况的纵向变化模式。
对 2009 年至 2017 年期间在六个标准检查年度接受牙科检查的单个队列学生的牙科记录进行了分析（n=24699）。采用零膨胀泊松分布的基于群组的轨迹建模来确定恒牙的龋齿轨迹。使用多项逻辑回归评估社会人口因素与轨迹组归属之间的关联。
在所确定的四个龋齿轨迹组中，预测的人群分布为 65.0%（“无”）、16.8%（“低”）、14.8%（“中”）和 3.4%（“高”）。“无”轨迹组在 8 年内 DMFT 评分为 0。“低”、“中”和“高”轨迹组的基线 DMFT 计数较高，DMFT 评分呈非线性增加。与基线和第 1 年相比，第 6 年和第 8 年 DMFT 计数之间的相关系数为 0.91。与龋齿轨迹“高”相关的因素包括较低的社会经济地位、女性、华族（与印度族相比）、在新加坡东部和西部地区的小学就读以及在公立中学就读。
在全国性学校牙科服务下，在 8 年内确定了恒牙龋齿计数的四种轨迹模式。在“低”、“中”和“高”轨迹组的学生中，从小学到中学的过渡期间，龋齿的增量更大。在较年轻的年龄中，DMFT 计数在连续检查中的相关性强于在较年长的年龄中。
