The purpose of this project is to develop a series of well-documented and edited databases from various national oral health surveys (e.g., the Oral Health Dental Component of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), (1988-1994) and the National Institute of Dental Research's (NIDR's) National Surveys of Oral Health in U.S. School Children in 1979-1980 and 1986-1987). Database development involves a sequence of steps. These include: (1) development of error- checking specifications and file documentation procedures; (2) translation of specifications into computer language code; (3) development of standardized variable names and summary variables; (4) examination of distributions and relationships among variables to evaluate data consistency; (5) addressing statistical and methodological issues related to integrating data from previous NIDR surveys; and (6) preparation of extensive documentation on the survey design and database structure. Since 1992, public-use files have been developed for the NIDR's National Surveys of the Oral Health of U.S. School Children in 1979-1980 and 1986- 1987, adding to public-use tapes previously developed by the Institute. The data will be used to contribute to ongoing studies on the magnitude, severity, scope, and interrelationships of oral health conditions in the U.S. population. The documentation and file structure permits researchers to perform their own analyses with minimal technical assistance. This year, working with the NCHS, the Analytical Epidemiology Section (AES) completed editing more than 31,000 oral health component records and prepared full survey documentation. The relationship between use of tobacco and alcohol and the presence of white or whitish oral soft-tissue lesions was studied using data from the 1986-87 Survey of Oral Health in U.S. Schoolchildren. Smokeless tobacco lesions were detected in 1.5 percent of the 17,027 12 to 17 year old students; 2.9 percent of males and 0.1 percent of females had lesions. Current snuff use was the strongest correlate of observable lesions. These data suggest that snuff may be a stronger risk factor than chewing tobacco for smokeless tobacco lesions, but the use of either form of oral tobacco exhibits a dose-response relationship with the occurrence of lesions.
