Relationship between fluoridation and socioeconomic status on dental caries experience in 5‐year‐old New Zealand children

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Abstract
The relationship between fluoridation and socioeconomic status on caries experience, as measured by the dmf [decayed, missing or filled] index, in 5-yr-old New Zealand children in the city of Dunedin (fluoridated in 1967) and in adjacent nonfluoride communities was examined. The children were subdivided into 6 socioceconomic status groups (SES1, professional and managerial - SES6, unskilled workers,), but then for simplicity they were combined to form 3 groups. A 2-way analysis of variance demonstrated that interaction between fluoride history and socioeconomic status was not significant. In all 3 SES groups, dmf was higher in nonfluoride communities, but the difference was significant only in SES group (5 and 6) (P < 0.01). Caries experience increased with decreasing socioeconomic status in both fluoride and nonfluoride communities, but this effect was only significant between SES groups (1 and 2) and (3 and 4) in the fluoridated community (P < 0.05), and between SES groups (3 and 4) and (5 and 6) in nonfluoride communities (P < 0.01). These results are compared with those of similar studies, and, apparently so far, the relationship between fluoridation and socioeconomic status on caries experience remains equivocal. A note of caution is sounded regarding the interpretation of such results, and the difficulties faced when comparing studies are discussed.