Figure 1. Path diagram for the theoretical model. The model depicts the hypothesis that the socio-economic gradient in the number of sound teeth in adults (teeth) is explained in part by dental attendance patterns (regular), which in turn are determined by the effect of socio-economic status (socio-econ) on barriers to dental attendance (barriers). Socioeconomic status is represented by social class (social) and weekly household income (income). Barriers to dental attendance include the importance given to visiting the dentist regularly (important), finding NHS treatment expensive (cost), wanting simple rather than intricate treatment (fancy), and feeling anxious when attending the dentist (anxiety). Age is also included in the model, since it is a significant predictor of the number of teeth. The goodness-of-fit indices were: the Akaike’s information criterion, AIC = 929; the root mean square error of approximation, RMSEA = 0.20 (0.19, 0.21); the comparative fit index, CFI = 0.60; normed fit index, NFI = 0.60; and the non-normed fit index, NNFI = 0.40.