An Exploration of Dental Examination Frequency and Socioeconomic Status

by

Live Poster Session: Zoom Link

Olivia Lai
Olivia Lai

Olivia is a sophomore (2023) at Wesleyan from Basking Ridge, New Jersey double majoring in Neuroscience & Behavior and Psychology and minoring in Chemistry. Prior to Wesleyan she attended the Pingry School in Basking Ridge, NJ. At Wesleyan, she is a member of the Women’s Lacrosse team and also involved with the Student Athlete Advisory Commitee (SAAC). With a strong passion for health sceinces, Olivia aspires to purse a career in denistry post graduation.

Ignore this button 🙂

The objective of the present analysis was to investigate the underlying mechanisms and socioeconomic factors that account for dental access disparities and inequalities among adolescents. Data from the Add Health Codebook was used to answer questions related to the association between dental examination frequency and socioeconomic status among adolescents. Socioeconomic status was defined based on an index score combining factors of income/financial stability, and the education level of an adolescent’s mother and father. The main finding of this analysis was that dental examination frequency is associated with socioeconomic status. The findings of this analysis and similar studies in the field of dentistry can inform evidence based-action and collaboration efforts among researchers, policymakers, public health practitioners, and the general public to narrow socioeconomic-related disparities and inequalities.

Olivia-Lai-QAC201-Poster