Cleaton-Jones, P.Hargreaves, J. A.Williams, S. D. L.et al.2023-03-302023-03-301989Cleaton-Jones, P. Hargreaves, J. A. Williams, S. D. L. 1989. Social class and dental caries in 11-12-year-old South African schoolchildren. Southern African journal of epidemiology and infection; 4(3):39-43https://hdl.handle.net/10539/34816PKThe objective of this study was to examine effects of social class on dental caries in five African populations. Definitions of social class that could be used for the different ethnic groups are outlined. A total of 1 154 children from rural black, urban black, urban Indian, urban coloured and urban white groups were clinically examined and classified into social class by parental occupations. Within group comparisons showed no statistically significant differences in DMFT or DMFS scores by social class. Comparison of the urban white children to a similar group in South Wales showed slightly lower caries in South African children of similar social class. The complexity of the different ethnic groups in South Africa, in respect of social classification, is difficult to assess for comparison with social systems in developed countries. It is recommended that an appropriate social classification be developed for South Africa ’s developed/developing population mixture. Also as we enter the 1990’s sound baseline caries data need to be collected for longitudinal evaluation of changes in the disease patternenDental cariesTooth, DeciduousSouth AfricaArticle