The use of a classification of residential neighbourhoods (ACORN) to demonstrate differences in dental health of children resident within the south Birmingham health district and of different socio-economic backgrounds.

This study was undertaken to evaluate variations in the dental health of children living within fluoridated South Birmingham, using a classification of residential neighbourhoods (ACORN) as a descriptor of socio-economic status, and to evaluate the change in these differences over time. Five-year-old children were examined as part of the rolling programme of epidemiological surveys co-ordinated by the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) in 1987 and 1989/90. The ACORN classification of each child was determined from the postal code of the home address. ACORN groups were amalgamated into three ranked divisions. There was a variation in dental health both in 1987 and 1989/90; children from disadvantaged groups had the poorest dental health. There was more marked variation in 1987 than in 1989/90. The reduction in inequality during this period was due to a relatively greater improvement in the dental health of the children from the more socially deprived areas.