Dental Caries Prediction Based on a Survey of the Oral Health Epidemiology among the Geriatric Residents of Liaoning, China

Table 2

The prevalence of dental caries and the studied variables.

Characteristic	The number of participants with caries	The number of participants without caries	^^ value
Demographic characteristics
Age
<70	494	248
≥70	290	112
Gender
Female, (%)	399	177
Male, (%)	385	183
Residency
Urban, (%)	419	154
Rural, (%)	365	206
Use of a removable upper jaw dental prosthesis
Yes, (%)	37	119
No, (%)	747	241
Use of a removable lower jaw dental prosthesis
Yes, (%)	23	100
No, (%)	761	260
Dental insurance
Yes, (%)	97	47
No, (%)	688	312
Number of true teeth
>20	537	193
≤20	247	167
Having toothache in previous years
Yes, (%)	417	118
No, (%)	367	242
Lifestyle
Smoking
Yes, (%)	538	199
No, (%)	246	161
Drinking alcohol
Yes, (%)	268	639
No, (%)	92	145
Eating candy frequently
Yes, (%)	42	30
No, (%)	742	330
Drinking carbonated beverages frequently
Yes, (%)	18	14
No, (%)	766	346
Domestic water access
Tap water, (%)	525	207
No tap water, (%)	259	153
Use of toothpick
Yes, (%)	468	252
No, (%)	316	108
Use of dental floss
Yes, (%)	4	0
No, (%)	780	360
Use of fluoride toothpaste
Yes, (%)	242	96
No, (%)	545	261
Attitudes and behaviors
Healthcare service needs
Yes, (%)	531	218
No, (%)	253	142
Believing oral health has an impact on eating
Yes, (%)	474	167
No, (%)	310	193
Visiting dental clinic for caries without pain
Yes, (%)	206	90
No, (%)	578	270
Visiting dental clinic in the past year
Yes, (%)	132	61
No, (%)	652	299
Self-oral health assessment
Not good, (%)	289	158
Good, (%)	495	202
Self-oral hygiene assessment
Not good, (%)	199	59
Good, (%)	585	301

^{^}Pearson’s chi-square test.