ASSOCIATION OF CARIES EXPERIENCE WITH SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL FACTORS AMONG ADULTS OF DIFFERENT AGES FROM IASI COUNTY, ROMANIA

The purpose of the present study is to determine the possible occurrence of SES disparity in caries experience (DMFT) in young adult and adult samples, and to establish whether differences in oral hygiene behaviors or preven‐ tive attitude can cause this disparity. Materials and method: A cross‐sectional study, conducted over 10 months in 2011, involved completion of a structured ques‐ tionnaire with information about the demographic profile, educational status, income, occupation, dental visits, rea‐ son of the visits, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits, underlying systemic diseases, smoking. Oral health status was obtained through clinical examination, using the World Health Organization (WHO) oral health assessment form (Basic Oral Health Surveys, 1997). The examination was conducted by a single, trained, calibrated examiner (dentist). Results: The study was conducted on a sample group formed of 327 young adults (229 females and 98 males; mean age: 21.99 years, SD: 2.30) with ages between 18‐26 years, and on 161 adults (97 females and 64 males; mean age: 34.96 years, SD: 5.59) with ages between 27‐ 45 years. The prevalence of dental caries in young adults was 96.3% (females: 72.7%, males: 27.3%). The mean value of DMFT/S for females and males was 8.24 (4.99)/13.67 (8.86), and 7.02 (6.15)/11.77 (10.70), respectively. Signifi‐ cant differences were observed in caries prevalence and experience between sexes (p<0.05). The prevalence of den‐ tal caries in adults was 97.5% (females: 61.8%, males: 38.2%). The mean value of DMFT/S for females and males was 9.44 (4.32)/16.86 (10.40) and 8.45 (5.19)/15.64 (12.02), respectively. No significant difference was noticed in the prevalence between sexes (p