Table 2.
Bivariate analysis of the association between regional location, oral health and putative confounders
| Characteristic | Major city % (95% CIs) | Inner regional % (95% CIs) | Outer regional, remote & very remote % (95% CIs) | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social demographics | ||||
| Age | ||||
| 15‐<45 years | 55.3 (52.2–58.4) | 39.0 (32.6–45.8) | 54.2 (48.3–59.9) | <0.01 |
| 45‐<60 years | 22.6 (20.0–25.4) | 28.9 (24.7–33.4) | 23.5 (18.8–28.9) | |
| 60+ years | 22.1 (20.0–24.4) | 32.1 (27.5–37.0) | 22.3 (18.5–26.6) | |
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 49.8 (46.5–53.0) | 48.2 (42.6–53.7) | 51.9 (45.2–58.5) | 0.72 |
| Female | 50.2 (46.9–53.5) | 51.8 (46.3–57.4) | 48.1 (41.5–54.8) | |
| Annual household income | ||||
| ≤$AU30k | 27.7 (24.6–30.9) | 39.6 (34.0–45.5) | 34.0 (28.5–40.0) | <0.01 |
| >$AU30k‐<60k | 32.6 (29.5–35.8) | 31.9 (26.7–37.6) | 32.9 (27.0–39.4) | |
| $AU60k+ | 39.8 (36.5–43.1) | 28.5 (23.7–33.8) | 33.1 (26.5–40.4) | |
| Education | ||||
| Year 11+ | 34.0 (30.8–37.4) | 21.4 (17.2–26.4) | 19.0 (15.2–23.5) | <0.01 |
| ≤Year 10 | 66.0 (62.6–69.2) | 78.5 (73.5–82.8) | 81.0 (76.5–84.8) | |
| Country of Birth | ||||
| Australia | 61.8 (58.3–65.1) | 82.2 (78.2–85.7) | 82.5 (76.2–87.5) | <0.01 |
| Other | 38.2 (34.9–41.6) | 17.8 (14.3–21.8) | 17.4 (12.5–2.38) | |
| Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander | ||||
| No | 99.6 (99.1–99.8) | 96.8 (93.6–98.4) | 95.7 (91.9–97.8) | <0.01 |
| Yes | 0.4 (0.2–0.9) | 3.2 (1.6–6.3) | 4.2 (21.8–8.1) | |
| Employment Status | ||||
| Employed | 62.2 (58.7–65.5) | 55.5 (49.3–61.5) | 62.3 (56.3–67.9) | 0.11 |
| Unemployed | 37.8 (34.4–41.2) | 44.5 (38.5–50.7) | 37.7 (32.1–43.7) | |
| Periodontal disease risk factors | ||||
| Diabetes | ||||
| Yes | 5.8 (4.7–7.2) | 6.5 (4.8–8.8) | 6.8 (4.5–10.1) | 0.71 |
| No | 94.2 (92.7–95.3) | 93.5 (91.2–95.2) | 93.2 (89.8–95.5) | |
| Smoking | ||||
| Current | 9.7 (7.9–11.8) | 9.4 (7.1–12.2) | 9.6 (7.1–12.7) | <0.01 |
| Previous | 26.3 (23.5–29.2) | 34.8 (29.8–40.2) | 33.8 (28.0–40.0) | |
| Never | 64.0 (60.9–67.0) | 55.8 (50.3–61.1) | 56.6 (50.6–62.5) | |
| Preventive dental behaviours | ||||
| Tooth Brushing | ||||
| 2+ day | 70.0 (67.4–72.6) | 69.5 (64.3–74.2) | 65.4 (59.3–70.9) | 0.35 |
| <2 day | 30.0 (27.4–32.6) | 30.5 (25.8–35.7) | 34.6 (29.0–40.7) | |
| Dental Flossing | ||||
| 1+ per day | 20.8 (18.5–23.3) | 22.6 (18.7–27.1) | 19.1 (14.2–25.1) | 0.60 |
| <1 per day | 79.2 (76.7–81.5) | 77.4 (72.9–81.3) | 80.9 (74.9–85.8) | |
| Barriers to dental care | ||||
| Difficulty in paying a $200 dental bill | ||||
| None | 26.0 (23.3–28.9) | 27.2 (23.4–31.4) | 26.4 (21.1–32.4) | 0.85 |
| Hardly any | 16.8 (14.5–19.4) | 18.3 (13.9–23.8) | 16.0 (12.7–20.0) | |
| A little | 31.6 (28.5–34.8) | 32.6 (27.9–37.8) | 30.6 (24.4–37.6) | |
| A lot of difficulty | 25.5 (22.5–28.8) | 21.8 (17.6–26.6) | 27.0 (21.7–33.0) | |
| Avoided or delayed dental treatment because of cost | ||||
| Yes | 43.7 (40.3–47.1) | 44.9 (39.8–50.0) | 47.4 (41.0–54.0) | 0.58 |
| No | 56.3 (52.9–59.7) | 55.1 (50.0–60.2) | 52.6 (46.0–59.0) | |
| Access to dental care | ||||
| Usual Reason for Dental Visit | ||||
| Check up | 65.5 (62.0–68.9) | 58.8 (53.8–63.7) | 50.3 (44.1–56.5) | <0.01 |
| Problem | 34.5 (31.1–38.0) | 41.2 (36.3–46.2) | 49.7 (43.5–55.9) | |
| Average time between dental visits | ||||
| 1+ times/year | 55.8 (52.3–59.4) | 49.2 (42.8–55.6) | 39.2 (34.6–44.0) | <0.01 |
| ≤Once a year | 44.2 (40.6–47.8) | 50.8 (44.4–57.2) | 60.8 (56.0–65.4) | |
| Eligibility for public dental care | ||||
| Eligible | 26.0 (23.3–29.0) | 40.8 (35.4–46.4) | 35.2 (27.8–43.3) | <0.01 |
| Not eligible | 73.9 (71.0–76.7) | 59.2 (53.6–64.6) | 64.8 (56.7–72.2) | |
| Clinical Dental Diseases | ||||
| Dental caries (mean) | ||||
| DMFT | 10.85 (10.32–11.38) | 13.35 (12.16–14.54) | 11.38 (10.17–12.59) | 0.03 |
| Decayed teeth | 0.75 (0.62–0.87) | 0.72 (0.53–0.91) | 0.99 (0.79–1.20) | 0.13 |
| Missing teeth | 4.00 (3.66–4.35) | 5.86 (5.16–6.55) | 4.74 (4.01–5.47) | <0.01 |
| Filled teeth | 6.10 (5.74–6.46) | 6.77 (6.12–7.41) | 5.65 (5.02–6.27) | 0.84 |
| CDC/APC Periodontal Classification | ||||
| None/Mild | 71.5 (68.6–74.2) | 69.5 (63.1–75.2) | 68.2 (61.1–74.6) | 0.61 |
| Moderate/Severe | 28.5 (25.8–31.3) | 30.5 (24.8–36.8) | 31.8 (25.4–38.9) |