Changes in dental care behaviour between 2002 and 2012 and its association with complete dentition in men and women in Switzerland

ABSTRACT Background In industrialized countries, the awareness of oral hygiene measures has increased and the number of missing teeth has been decreasing. A higher number of missing teeth was reported by women despite their more intense oral hygiene. The aim of this study was to compare oral hygiene and its association to oral health with a complete dentition in women and men in Switzerland between 2002 and 2012. Methods Weighted data from the Swiss-Health-Surveys in 2002 and 2012 were used to quantify the number of missing teeth, the prevalence of prosthetic dental restorations, dental visits and tooth brushing. Sex-stratified logistic regression analysis was performed for subjects aged ≥65-yrs to assess associations between a complete or functional dentition and dental visits, frequency of tooth brushing and socio-demographic factors. Results In all age groups, the prevalence of dental visits and frequent tooth brushing increased and the prevalence of missing teeth decreased between 2002 and 2012. In 2012, the prevalence of a complete dentition was 87% in men and 85.3% women aged <25-yrs and 8.2% or 15.6% in the ≥85-yrs old. Prevalence of dental visits varied between 45.2% in the ≥85-yrs in 2002 and 73.1% in the 55-65-yrs old in 2012 in women and between 26.0% in the ≥85-yrs in 2002 and 68.1% in the 55-65-yrs old in 2012 in men. Frequent tooth brushing was more often reported by women (87.7%/81.4%) than men (73.5%/65.5%) in 2012 and 2002. Subjects aged ≥65-yrs, who visited their dentist within the last year, were twice as likely to have a functional dentition compared to subjects not having visited their dentist in the last year (men: 2.10, 1.68-2.63; women: 2.16, 1.73-2.70) in 2012, in 2002 this association was even stronger. A complete dentition was also associated with high income, higher education and non-smoking in 2012 in men and women. Conclusion In women and men, oral hygiene practices improved and the mean number of missing teeth substantially decreased between 2002 and 2012. Although women followed oral hygiene recommendations more closely than men, they still do not have a higher prevalence of a complete dentition, except in the oldest age groups.