Proper evaluation of oral health status, knowledge, attitudes and behaviour among
people Is a basis for planning preventive and curative oral health care programs, and
for devdaping training programs for dental personnel. However, such information is
lacking in China, especially among adults and among rural residents. The objectives
of this srudy were to describe the or^l health status and treaiment needs of 35-44 and
65-74 year-old Chinese in Guangdong Province, to explore the oral health
knowledge, aniludes and behaviour in these two age groups, and to determine
factors affeciing their oral health status and oral health behaviour,
An oral health survey was conducted in Guangdong Province in Southern China in
1996-97. A sample of 1,573 "35.44-year-oli and 1,515 65-74-year-old Chinese was
recruited from 8 urban sites and S rural sites through multi-^tagc cluster sampling. In
die siirv'ey, the subjects were first interviewed by trained interviewers using a
structured questionnaire. Then they underwent a clinical examination carried out by
one of three calibrated examiners. The examination procedures^ instalments and
diagnostic criteria used followed those recommended by the World Health
Organization (1997) for oral health surveys.
The subjects' oral health knowledge was found to be poor but their oral health
attitudes were generally positive. Alm(>s: all of the dcmale elderly surveyed daimed
that they brushed their teeth every day and used tooihp^le. However,most of them
did not know if their toothpaste contained fluoride Their dental service utilization
Jow and problem-driven- Less than one-quarter of che subjects had visited a dentist
within a year. SociaJ and economic factors were fbund to relate To oral healih
knowledge, attitudes, and oral health behaviour in this population. The mean DMFT
score was 4.6 m the 35-44"year-olds and 15.6 in the 65-74"year-olds. M T was the
major component of the DMFT score in both age groups. Rural residents, women
and those who wcrt Itss wealthy had higher DMFT scores. Pre&cnc;^ of calculus and
shallow periodontal pockets was prevalent but not for deep periodontal pockets.
However, loss of pcnodomal attachment was prevalent and severe in the surveyed
adults. Men exhibited worse periodomal status tban women but rural residents and
urban residents exhibited similar periodontal destruction. Only 4% of the elderly
surveyed were edentuloiis. Almost all of the 35-44-year-olds and moat of the 65-74-
year-olds had at least 20 teeth present. Rural residents had a similar number of
missing teetK but a greater number of teeth indicated for extraction than urban
residents. Only a small proportion of the middle-aged and leS& than half of the
elderly were found to have a dental prosthesis in either jaw. The prevalence of
normative dental treatment need among the adult Southern Chinese was found to be
high but the rrcaunents were mainly simple ones. However^ the prevalence of
perceived treatment need in this population was low and the correlation between
these two types of treatment needs was low.