The distribution of dentists and the uptake of dental treatment by schoolchildren in England

Abstract

The uptake of treatment by 508 14-year-old children in different social classes in two towns in England with different dentist:population ratios was investigated. In the town with the unfavorable dentist:population ratio (Town U) the uptake of treatment was considerably higher in the higher social classes. In the town with the favorable dentist:population ratio (Town F) the uptake was similar throughout the social scale. The results suggest that the availability of dentists rather than sociologic attitudes to dental health is largely responsible for the differential uptake of treatment by children in the different social classes.