TABLE 1.
Characteristics of patients from Northwest PRECEDENT* general dental practices.
| CHARACTERISTIC | NUMBER (%) OF PARTICIPANTS
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children and Adolescents (9–17 Years Old) (n = 350) | Adults (18–64 Years Old) (n = 676) | Older Adults (≥65 Years Old) (n = 361) | TOTAL (N = 1,387) | |
|
| ||||
| Demographics | ||||
| Sex | ||||
| Female | 188 (53.7) | 403 (59.6) | 200 (55.4) | 791 (57.0) |
| Male | 162 (46.3) | 273 (40.4) | 161 (44.6) | 596 (43.0) |
| Race | ||||
| White | 322 (92.0) | 625 (92.4) | 347 (96.1) | 1294 (93.3) |
| Other | 21 (6.0) | 43 (6.4) | 8 (2.2) | 72 (5.2) |
| Missing data | 7 (2.0) | 8 (1.2) | 6 (1.7) | 21 (1.5) |
|
| ||||
| Socioeconomic Status | ||||
| Income per capita | ||||
| Low income | 153 (43.7) | 159 (23.5) | 24 (6.6) | 336 (24.2) |
| Middle income | 98 (28.0) | 190 (28.1) | 88 (24.4) | 376 (27.1) |
| High income | 14 (4.0) | 276 (40.8) | 173 (47.9) | 463 (33.4) |
| Missing data | 85 (24.3) | 51 (7.6) | 76 (21.1) | 212 (15.3) |
| Education† | ||||
| < High school | 16 (4.6) | 35 (5.2) | 32 (8.9) | 83 (6.0) |
| High school | 97 (27.7) | 226 (33.4) | 122 (33.8) | 445 (32.1) |
| > High school | 233 (66.6) | 415 (61.4) | 203 (56.2) | 851 (61.3) |
| Missing data | 4 (1.1) | 0 | 4 (1.1) | 8 (0.6) |
|
| ||||
| General Health | ||||
| No. of Acidic beverages per week | ||||
| 0–2 | 69 (19.7) | 182 (26.9) | 112 (31.0) | 363 (26.2) |
| 3–6 | 126 (36.0) | 181 (26.8) | 93 (25.8) | 400 (28.8) |
| > 6–9.5 | 68 (19.4) | 135 (20.0) | 93 (25.8) | 296 (21.3) |
| > 9.5 | 87 (24.9) | 177 (26.2) | 63 (17.4) | 327 (23.6) |
| Missing data | 0 | 1 (0.1) | 0 | 1 (0.1) |
| Alcohol consumption | ||||
| No | 342 (97.7) | 204 (30.2) | 128 (35.5) | 674 (48.6) |
| Yes | 8 (2.3) | 472 (69.8) | 233 (64.5) | 713 (51.4) |
| Smoking | ||||
| Never smoked | 345 (98.6) | 458 (67.8) | 190 (52.6) | 993 (71.6) |
| Ever smoked | 4 (1.1) | 213 (31.5) | 170 (47.1) | 387 (27.9) |
| Missing data | 1 (0.3) | 5 (0.7) | 1 (0.3) | 7 (0.5) |
| No. of medications affecting saliva | ||||
| 0–2 | 348 (99.4) | 615 (91.0) | 292 (80.9) | 1255 (90.5) |
| ≥3 | 2 (0.6) | 61 (9.0) | 69 (19.1) | 132 (9.5) |
|
| ||||
| Oral Health | ||||
| No. of teeth present, mean (SD‡) | 23.5 (6.2) | 27.0 (2.5) | 24.1 (5.5) | 25.4 (4.8) |
| Toothbrushing with fluoride | ||||
| < 1 per day | 64 (18.3) | 73 (10.8) | 56 (15.5) | 193 (13.9) |
| 1 per day | 94 (26.9) | 151 (22.3) | 76 (21.1) | 321 (23.2) |
| ≥2 per day | 192 (54.8) | 452 (66.9) | 229 (63.4) | 873 (62.9) |
| Visible heavy plaque | ||||
| Yes | 102 (29.1) | 87 (12.9) | 74 (20.5) | 263 (19.0) |
| No | 246 (70.3) | 588 (87.0) | 286 (79.2) | 1120 (80.7) |
| Missing data | 2 (0.6) | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.3) | 4 (0.3) |
|
| ||||
| Salivary Characteristics | ||||
| Salivary consistency | ||||
| Thick, sticky or frothy | 16 (4.6) | 42 (6.2) | 40 (11.1) | 98 (7.1) |
| Watery and clear | 334 (95.4) | 634 (93.8) | 321 (88.9) | 1289 (92.9) |
| Resting salivary flow, in seconds | ||||
| ≤ 60 | 328 (93.7) | 508 (75.1) | 229 (63.4) | 1065 (76.8) |
| > 60 to < 90 | 7 (2.0) | 52 (7.7) | 27 (7.5) | 86 (6.2) |
| ≥ 90 | 15 (4.3) | 116 (17.2) | 105 (29.1) | 236 (17.0) |
| Stimulated salivary flow rate, in mL§/minute | ||||
| ≤ 0.6 | 47 (13.4) | 69 (10.2) | 40 (11.1) | 156 (11.2) |
| > 0.6 to < 1.0 | 96 (27.4) | 111 (16.4) | 61 (16.9) | 268 (19.3) |
| ≥ 1.0 | 207 (59.1) | 495 (73.2) | 260 (72.0) | 962 (69.4) |
| Missing data | 0 | 1 (0.2) | 0 | 1 (0.1) |
| Mean (SD) | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.4 (0.8) | 1.5 (0.8) | 1.4 (0.7) |
| Resting salivary pH | ||||
| ≤ 6.0 | 8 (2.3) | 66 (9.8) | 51 (14.1) | 125 (9.0) |
| > 6.0 to < 6.4 | 14 (4.0) | 80 (11.8) | 60 (16.6) | 154 (11.1) |
| ≥ 6.4 | 328 (93.7) | 530 (78.4) | 248 (68.7) | 1106 (79.8) |
| Missing data | 0 | 0 | 2 (0.6) | 2 (0.1) |
| Mean (SD) | 7.0 (0.4) | 6.6 (0.4) | 6.5 (0.4) | 6.7 (0.5) |
| Stimulated salivary pH | ||||
| ≤ 7.0 | 31 (8.9) | 80 (11.8) | 42 (11.6) | 153 (11.0) |
| > 7.0 to < 7.6 | 68 (19.4) | 150 (22.2) | 56 (15.5) | 274 (19.8) |
| ≥ 7.6 | 250 (71.4) | 446 (66.0) | 262 (72.6) | 958 (69.1) |
| Missing data | 1 (0.3) | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.1) |
| Mean (SD) | 7.5 (0.3) | 7.5 (0.3) | 7.5 (0.3) | 7.5 (0.3) |
| Salivary buffering capacity¶ | ||||
| 0–3 | 30 (8.6) | 56 (8.3) | 26 (7.2) | 112 (8.1) |
| 4–5 | 49 (14.0) | 101 (14.9) | 39 (10.8) | 189 (13.6) |
| 6–12 | 269 (76.8) | 519 (76.8) | 295 (81.7) | 1083 (78.1) |
| Missing data | 2 (0.6) | 0 | 1 (0.3) | 3 (0.2) |
| Mean (SD) | 7.0 (2.4) | 7.1 (2.3) | 7.5 (2.7) | 7.2 (2.5) |
*
PRECEDENT: Northwest Practice-based Research Collaborative in Evidence-based DENTistry.
†
For participants 18 years and younger, the authors used parental education.
‡
SD: Standard deviation.
§
mL: Milliliter.
¶
Buffering capacity determined by adding the values assigned to each color, according to the manufacturer’s instructions: green, 4; blue/green, 3; blue, 2; blue/red, 1; and red, 0.