Socioeconomic inequalities in oral health. Factors associated with toothbrushing frequency in Nicaraguan schoolchildren.

Objective. To identify the association between tooth brushing frequency and variables of socioeconomic position in Nicaraguan schoolchildren. Material and Methods. A cross sectional study was undertaken in 1353 schoolchildren ages 6 to 12 randomly selected from 25 elementary schools in Leon, Nicaragua. Using a questionnaire addressed to mothers, sociodemographic, socioeconomic and behavioral variables were collected. The dependent variable was tooth brushing frequency, which was dichotomized in 0 ?at least one 7 times/week? and 1 ?7 or more times/week?. A multivariate analysis was carried out with logistic regression in STATA 9. Results. The average age of child participants was 8.992.00 years and 49.7% were women. In the final model, older age (OR=2.04), famele sex (OR=1.39) and having a mother with positive attitudes toward oral health (OR=2.5) associated with the tooth brushing frequency (p< 0.05). Larger family size (OR=0.89) and having low socioeconomic status (1st quartile; OR=0.67) showed a negative relationship with the tooth brushing frequency. To have at least one preventive dental visit in the previous year was positively associated (p<0.10) with tooth brushing frequency. Conclusion. This study suggested that existence of indicators of socioeconomic inequalities exist even within less developed countries, and thus emphasize the need to target health promotion programs to vulnerable socioeconomic groups.