Andrew K. York

Comparing tobacco use among incoming recruits and military personnel on active duty in the United States.

OBJECTIVE To compare the tobacco use profile of recruits with that of military personnel on active duty to determine whether the military environment in some way induces service members to initiate tobacco use. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional survey of United States armed forces active duty and recruit personnel in 1994–95. SUBJECTS 2711 military recruits and 4603 military personnel on active duty. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Comparative cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco use prevalence between recruits and personnel on active duty controlling for age, sex, and race. Impact of demographic factors on the odds of smoking or using smokeless tobacco. RESULTS Increases in tobacco use in American military personnel occurred exclusively in men. The highest tobacco use resided with white men on active duty (43% cigarette smoking; 24% smokeless tobacco use) and represents a doubling of tobacco use seen among white male recruits. Among non-white men, tobacco use increased 2–4 times between recruits and personnel on active duty. CONCLUSIONS Efforts to reduce tobacco use by American military personnel on active duty should focus more on discouraging the initiation of tobacco use.

Factors influencing perceived need for dental care by United States military recruits

Abstract This study explores factors that influence perceived need for dental care among US military recruits. The data were collected on a systematic random sample of 2711 US Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps recruits between February and July 1994. Participants received a comprehensive oral examination from a dentist and answered perceived need queries on self-administered questionnaires. Using bivariate and logistic regression analyses, we examined the association between demographic and clinical measures and perceived need for dental care. Bivariate results show that, overall, 61% of US military recruits perceive a need for dental care, with statistically significant differences across many demographic and clinical factors. Logistic regression results show that the likelihood of perceived need is influenced by gender, branch of service, dental health class, home region of the US, calculus, bleeding gums, level of decay, and dental utilization.

Changes in Dental Classification during the First 4 Years of Military Service

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the way in which the oral health of recruits changed during the 4 years immediately after entry on active duty. METHODS In 1998, 1,331 dental records of recruits in the 1994 Tri-Service Comprehensive Oral Health Survey were located, and treatment data were analyzed. RESULTS Class 1, treatment complete or no treatment indicated, was achieved by 61.2% (95% confidence interval, 58.4-64.0) of service members during the 4-year study period. Army, Navy, and Marine Corps percentages did not significantly differ in the range of 50% to 60%. The Air Force was significantly higher at 89.5% achieving class 1. CONCLUSIONS All services were successful in achieving and maintaining operational readiness among 1994 recruits who spent 93% of their first 4 years of military service in a deployable oral health status (class 1 or 2). A significant number of recruits (38.8%) never achieved complete oral health (class 1).

Comparing dental utilization of United States of America military recruits with their employed civilian cohorts

Abstract This study compares the dental utilization of United States of America (USA) military recruits with that of their employed civilian cohorts. Military data were collected between February and June 1994 at one recruit in-processing site per service, using self-administered questionnaires on a prestratified, systematic, random sample of 2369 Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine recruits. Women and blacks were oversampled. Civilian data come from the most recent oral health survey of working adults in the USA. Results show that annual dental utilization rates of military recruits equal or are less than those of their employed civilian cohorts. Overall, 38% of recruits have seen a dentist in the past year, while 30% have not seen a dentist in 3 or more years. Such low consumption of dental care suggests that dental utilization habits prior to service entry do not contribute appreciably to the high dental utilization rates seen among active duty US military personnel.