The dental needs of high school students in Newport News, Virginia: a pilot study

To gain insight into the dental needs of high school students, the Newport News Health Department conducted a survey of 236 tenth graders in a city high school. Ages ranged from 14 to 17 with approximately half of the students black and half white. The average DMFT for whites (3.21) was not significantly different from that for blacks (3.64) (p = .332) nor was it different for gender (female 3.58, male 3.28; p = .498) thereby indicating a very similar caries experience for both race and gender. The average F/DMFT indices, however, were significantly different for race (p < .0001) and those for gender quite close to statistical significance ( p = .083). Females have the highest filling needs met (74.3%) followed by white males (47.8%), black females (32.5%) and black males (31.4%). Unmet dental needs for both whites and blacks were found to be considerably higher than those for the U.S. as a whole as well as for those from the southeast. The greater dental needs, especially among blacks and males, may reflect limited access to dental care or a lower perceived need for such care. Sealants were present in 23% of the students compared with 7% nationwide. There was a significant association between the presence of sealants and students qualifying for dental care at the Health Department through the school free lunch dental program (p = .036).