Method: Data of 15313, 14878, 15693, and 15318 Thai children aged ≤ 15 years from the nationally representative Health and Welfare Survey waves in 2003 2006 2009 2011 were used, respectively. Descriptive analyses were performed to reveal the features of oral health-related behaviors comprised of frequency of eating snacks, drinking sweetened beverages, smoking, alcohol drinking, and dental care utilization. Concentration index was used for quantifying the extent of inequalities in these behaviors. In addition to multivariate logistic regression were employed to determine the determinants and their associations with inequalities of these behaviors.
Result: Reports of eating snacks and drinking sweetened beverages ≥ 5days per week of those children of higher socioeconomic-status (SES) were more common than their lower SES counterparts. Likewise, dental care utilization was more concentrated among those of high SES. By contrast, smoking and alcohol consumption revealed reverse gradients as these behaviors were more concentrated among those of lower SES than those of higher SES. Certain demographic-, socioeconomic-, and geographic characteristics were particularly associated with differences in such inequalities.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that inequality in oral health-related behaviors among Thai children is discernable along the entire spectrum of SES. The study also indicates population subgroups deserve particular attention for improving oral health-related behaviors which can be the integrated approaches in health promotion strategies. Also, the upstream-level approach needs to be oriented in oral health policy and public health interventions.