Comparison of the dental health status of six-year-old children in Manitoba.

The caries rates of six-year-old Manitoba children from a non-fluoridated Northern community were compared with those of a representative group of southern Manitoba children from non-fluoridated areas. All of the surveyed children became eligible for dental treatment coverage under Manitoba Health's Children's Dental Program approximately two months prior to the survey. Access to dental care was equivalent for all children. Screening (data collection) was completed by Manitoba Dental Health staff and was based on standard World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The initial assessment of the data indicated that the Northern Manitoba children experienced an average of 82 per cent more decay per child than the southern group. Caries treatment requirements in the north were 59 per cent greater than in the south. The southern Manitoba children were almost twice as likely to be caries free than the Northern children. Closer examination of the Northern data, based on a socioeconomic delineation, indicated that the Northern middle- to high-income group experienced 24 per cent more decay per child than the southern group. The Northern middle- to low-income group experienced 124 per cent more decay per child than the southern group. In this study, it was demonstrated that although increased dental caries experience was closely related to geographic location, socioeconomic factors may play an even greater role in dental caries experience.