Table 5.

Association of individual characteristics with number of root surfaces with caries (RSC) among those with exposed root surfaces (n=349), with p values adjusted for study site

Variable		N	Mean RSC	pb value	pd value
Gender	Female	197	2.02	0.004	0.281
	Male	152	3.58
Race	White/Caucasian	225	3.47	0.002	0.143
	African-American	103	1.04
	Other	21	2.57
Ethnic origin	Hispanic	13	1.23	0.263	0.077
	Not Hispanic	336	2.75
Daily average mints/candy/gum consumption	0	87	2.56	0.073c	0.585c
	1	50	2.94
	2	41	4.17
	≥3	81	1.78
High blood pressure	Yes	121	3.04	0.026	0.454
	No	228	2.51
Cancer chemo/radiotherapy	Yes	25	3.24	0.233	0.218
	No	324	2.65
Diabetes	Yes	53	2.25	0.854	0.944
	No	296	2.78
Depression	Yes	64	2.97	0.294	0.940
	No	285	2.64
Medicationsa	Yes	42	3.14	0.678	0.263
	No	307	2.64
Time since last dental visit	<1 year	277	3.09	0.016	0.800
	≥ 1 year	68	1.21
Time of most recent professional fluoride treatment	≤1 year ago	171	3.47	0.217c	0.415c
	>1 year ago	76	1.95
	Never	41	1.29
Daily use of OTC fluoride toothpaste	Yes	301	2.75	0.599	0.300
	No	32	2.75
Daily use of OTC fluoride mouthwash	Yes	124	2.75	0.959	0.220
	No	208	2.63
Daily frequency of toothbrushing	≤Once/day	83	2.42	0.416	0.993
	>Once/day	264	2.8
Daily frequency of flossing	<Once/day	156	2.11	0.024	0.550
	≥Once/day	191	3.19
Self-described oral health	Poor/very poor	59	3.71	0.080c	0.128c
	Fair	131	2.87
	Good	122	2.45
	Very good/excellent	35	1.29
Dry mouth symptoms	Yes	261	2.77	0.366	0.063
	No	86	2.51

OTC over-the-counter

^aUse of antibiotics, tranquilizers, and/or antihistamines

^bBased on Mantel–Haenszel Mean Score Statistic with standardized midrank scores adjusting for study site unless otherwise noted

^cMantel–Haenszel Correlation Statistic with standardized midrank scores adjusting for study site

^dMantel–Haenszel test adjusting for study site and for number of root surfaces with caries at risk via nonparametric analysis of covariance