Dental Health of New Brunswick's Children: A Chartbook

Executive Summary 

The Healthier New Brunswick Community Survey provided information on the oral health of a representative sample of children in the city of New Brunswick. Specifically, children's oral health was measured by general dental health status and whether or not the child had a visit to a dentist in the past twelve months. Findings from the survey indicate that dental care is a significant health concern for New Brunswick's children. 

Approximately 13% of children (ages Oto 18) in New Brunswick are reported as having fair or poor dental health. Although this percentage is higher than the overall statewide figure of 11% of children in fair or poor dental health, children in New Brunswick fare better than the 19% of children in urban New Jersey who are reported as having fair or poor dental health. Children in New Brunswick who are in worse dental health are more likely to be Mexican, uninsured, poor to near-poor, and in the age range of 6 to 12. 

Findings from this study also indicate that, based on the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics that regular visits to a dentist begin at age 3, children in New Brunswick are not visiting the dentist as frequently as recommended. Approximately half of children in New Brunswick ages 3 to 18 did not have any dental visit during a 12 month period. This proportion of children having no dental visits in that period is greater than children in urban New Jersey not visiting the dentist ( -48%), as well as the statewide proportion of children ( -33%). 

The three domains of sociodemographics, health status, and access to healthcare, were examined in an effort to increase the understanding of the characteristics of these children who did not regularly see a dentist.