Other
Jordan Pellegrom, DDS (he/him/his)
Pediatric Dental Resident
Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO
Children's Hospital Colorado
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Tamanna Tiwari, BDS, MDS, MPH
Program Director, DDS/MPH program
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Cristina Leon-Pineda, DMD, MPH, MSDS
Children's Hospital Colorado
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Tamanna Tiwari, BDS, MDS, MPH
Program Director, DDS/MPH program
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Aurora, Colorado, United States
Purpose: This retrospective cross-sectional study evaluates how caries outcomes in children are influenced by their social vulnerability.
Methods: Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and electronic dental record data of children (0-18 years) reporting for dental examination at the Children’s Hospital Colorado in 2020 were extracted for this study. Logistic regression for the effect of SVI, treated both continuously and categorically, on the presence (n=4900) or absence (n=4301) of dental caries as a visit diagnosis was adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, and race.
Results: Patients with a new caries diagnosis had a greater mean Overall SVI percentile (62.0, SD=29.1) compared to patients without a new caries diagnosis (59.1, SD=29.8) (P < .001). With each 10-point increase in the Overall SVI percentile, having a new caries diagnosis visit was 2.7% more likely compared to having a visit without a new caries diagnosis (OR 1.027, 95% CI 1.012- 1.042; P=.0004). Those with an Overall SVI percentile between 51-75 were 23% more likely to have a new caries diagnosis compared to those with a percentile <25 (OR 95% CI 1.07, 1.42; P=.003), and those with a percentile >75 were 23.6% more likely to have a caries diagnosis compared to those with a percentile <25 (OR 95% CI 1.09, 1.40; P= .001).
Conclusion: Children living in more socially vulnerable areas were more likely to have a new caries diagnosis at their dental exam. With additional research, SVI could be used to better understand and estimate patients’ caries outcomes and risks.