Social Class and Oral Health Flashcards
What is social class?
Sense of hierarchy within society i.e. (upper, middle, working, lower)
How does social class tend to influence oral health?
Disparities in social inequalities and oral health, where lower classes tend to be more at risk of oral health complications
Name 5 key risk factors in poor oral health
- Social class
- Smoking / Alcohol
- Gender
- Oral hygiene
- Gender
Describe the 5 levels of Social Class based on Occupation
I - Professional occupations II - Managerial and technical occupations III N - Skilled non-manual occupations III M - Skilled manual occupations IV - Partly-skilled occupations V - Unskilled occupations
What are 3 dimensions of newer methods of categorising class?
- Economic
- Social
- Cultural
What is a time horizon?
Separate indicator which describes how different classes tend to think about different lengths of times i.e. lowest class have no concept of future time / upper class think in a lifetime (inheritance, business etc)
What are 5 judgements a person can make to base an opinion?
- Appearance
- Employment
- Accent
- Race / Ethnicity
- Name
What is human bias?
Human bias is hard-wired to make quick decisions that draw on a variety of assumptions and experiences without even knowing
What are 2 major points with regards to dentistry and bias?
- Be aware of personal stereotypes / judgements / bias
2. Effects of belonging to a particular social class
How does social class tend to impact children?
- Children tend to hear more words if they are from professional backgrounds
- Children from lower income backgrounds tend to be more discouraged
- Children from lower income backgrounds tend to preform worse in maths and reading tests
What are 5 major oral health problems associated with lower social class?
- Increased decay
- Greater number of teeth affected
- Increased number of extractions
- Increased cases of oral cancer
- More unmet orthodontic needs
What are 3 relationships between social class and health inequalities?
- Materialism
- Culture
- Social captial
What aspect of materialism with regards to lower social class will influence health inequalities?
Poor housing, lack of resources and higher risk occupations
What aspect of culture with regards to lower social class will influence health inequalities?
Preference for a less healthy lifestyle involving smoking, fatty foods and less exercise
What aspect of social capital with regards to lower social class will influence health inequalities?
Social isolation, unemployment and individuals are less likely to be members of groups or religious organisations
What is the inverse care law?
Principle that the availability of good medical or social care tends to vary inversely with the need of the population served
What are 5 social effects of poor dental health?
- Missed school / working days
- Pain
- Bad teeth, more treatment, anxiety, avoidance cycle
- Teasing / bullying
- Poor self-esteem
What is the solution of social effects caused by poor dental health?
Implementation of effective and appropriate oral health promotion property and not by treating oral disease alone
What are 3 common themes in addressing the issue of social effects of poor oral health?
- Fairness (Marmot review)
- Early intervention
- Wider perspective
What is the Marmot review?
Strategic review of health inequalities
What are the 3 main elements of the Marmot review?
- Reduce inequalities as a matter of fairness and justice
- Focusing solely on most disadvantaged is wrong approach
- To reduce steepness of gradient action must be proportionate to the level of disadvantage and at all levels
What are 2 problems limiting early intervention in dental care?
- Poor schools do not have the resources
2. Sugar products are consumed in schools at high rates
What are 5 UK government focuses with regards to early prevention?
- Early childhood
- UK evidence based toolkit for prevention
- Local empowerment initiatives
- Initiatives to tackle unemployment
- Communities designed for active ageing
What is the UK evidence based toolkit for prevention?
Clear guidance about the advice dentists should give and the actions they should take to be sure they are doing the best for their patients in preventing disease
What is the potential problem with dried fruit or fruit juice?
These foods are considered “healthy” yet have high levels of sugar which can damage children’s teeth
What is a potential problem of snacking with regards to pH of the mouth?
Teeth become constantly bathed in acid, giving the saliva no time to neutralise the food and let the enamel recover
Name 4 sources of input in an individuals social context
- Family
- Peers
- Class
- Workplace
