Characterizing Socioeconomic Inequalities in Professionally Applied Topical Fluoride Treatment Courses in Schoolchildren from a Developing Country

The objective of the present study was to characterize socioeconomic inequalities in the patterns of professionally applied topical fluoride (PATF) in Mexican schoolchildren. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 3029 Mexican schoolchildren. A questionnaire was administered to caregivers to determine sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral variables. The dependent variable was prevalence of PATF, coded as 0 = without PATF and 1 = with PATF, at any point in life, and separately, in the previous year. Various indicators of socioeconomic position were included. Logistic regression was used in the final multivariate analysis. The prevalence of PATF any time in life was 33.8%, while in the previous year it was 11.4%. The variables associated (p < 0.05) with PATF any time in life were child's older age (OR = 1.12), older age when tooth brushing started (OR = 1.57), higher brushing frequency (OR = 1.60), having health insurance [public (OR = 1.61) or private (OR = 1.45)], if family owned a car (OR = 1.29) and better socioeconomic position [parents' education, second (OR = 1.48) and third (OR = 1.75) tertile]. For PATF in the previous year, the variables associated were older age of mother (OR = 1.03), older age when tooth brushing started (OR = 1.99), higher brushing frequency (OR = 1.68), having health insurance [public (OR = 1.62)] and better socioeconomic position (parents' education, second (OR = 1.57) and third (OR = 1.97) tertile). This study suggests the existence of socioeconomic inequalities in PATF, manifested through socioeconomic position, access to health insurance and household having a car. Identifying and addressing PATF inequalities would improve oral health in the child population.