Orthodontic Treatment as a Protective Factor for Dental Caries Experience and Severity: A Population-Based Study

Table 2

Characteristics of the study participants who received previous orthodontic treatment (n = 9486).

Characteristics	History of orthodontic treatment (n = 1125), % (SE)
Age (%)
<24 y (n = 2241)	30.35 (2.10)
≥24 y and <39 y (n = 4701)	19.42 (1.35)
≥39 y (n = 2544)	12.37 (0.98)
Gender (%)
Male (n = 4262)	15.83 (1.21)
Female (n = 5224)	23.21 (1.17)
Race/ethnicity (%)
Non-Hispanic Caucasian (n = 2927)	23.97 (1.15)
Non-Hispanic African-American (n = 3204)	5.18 (0.45)
Mexican-American (n = 2940)	7.84 (0.55)
Others (n = 415)	11.59 (2.39)
Socioeconomic status (%)
Low SES: 0–1.3 PIR (n = 3004)	12.78 (1.45)
Medium SES: >1.3–3.5 PIR (n = 3857)	17.58 (1.11)
High SES: >3.5 PIR and above (n = 2625)	25.00 (1.38)
Education level (%)
Less than high school (n = 3105)	9.65 (1.34)
High school or more (n = 6381)	22.18 (1.01)

SE, standard error. Significant value at α < 0.05.