Social deprivation and oral health: A narrative review

Abstract

Deprivation is a state of observable and demonstrable disadvantage of an individual relative to the society to which he belongs. Deprivation can be material or social. Non-participation of the individual in their roles, relationships, customs, functions, rights and responsibilities implied by membership of society is social deprivation. The indicators of deprivation are either direct/indirect and ranges from relatively simple single item asset-based measures to more complex measures. The most used indices are Townsend’s Index of Material Deprivation, the Jarman Deprivation Score and the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). Deprived adults have greater prevalence of dental caries and periodontitis, higher rates of tooth loss, less dental service utilization and more dental risk behaviors when compared with advantaged population. Despite the fact that overall population dental diseases levels have declined in recent decades, the socially deprived population are still suffering from many of the dental related diseases and its consequences.