Associations between Individual-level and Area-level social disadvantage and oral health behaviours in Australian adolescents.

Kaunien, Nadia; Singh, Ankur; King, Tania

BACKGROUND Oral health behaviours are significant determinants of oral health. There is evidence that socio-economic position influences oral health behaviours, but little is known about this association during adolescence. This study aims to investigate the association between social disadvantage (individual- and area-level) and oral health behaviours among Australian adolescents. METHODS This study utilised data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). The sample consisted of 2877 adolescents. Exposure measures were area-level social disadvantage (Socioeconomic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA)), and parent-reported household income from Wave 5. Outcomes, measured in Wave 6, wereadolescent-reported oral health behaviours: frequency of brushing, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and dental visits. Associations between quintiles of each exposure and each oral health behaviour were tested by fitting multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS Household income and area-level disadvantage were associated with dental visits and brushing frequency. Associations between social disadvantage and consumption of SSBs was less apparent, with only the leastdisadvantaged adolescentshaving lower odds of consumption of SSBs compared to the mostdisadvantaged group. CONCLUSION Broad population-based strategies must be adopted to reduce intake of SSBs, however targeted strategies are needed among more disadvantaged populations to address infrequent tooth brushing and irregular dental visits among adolescents.