Dental Care Utilization for Examination and Regional Deprivation.
- Author:
Cheol Sin KIM
1
;
Sun Young HAN
;
Seung Eun LEE
;
Jeong Hee KANG
;
Chul Woung KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Keywords: Utilization; Dental care; Dental health surveys; Residence characteristics; Multilevel analysis
- MeSH: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Demography; Dental Care/*utilization; Female; Health Services Needs and Demand; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
- From:Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health 2015;48(4):195-202
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Receiving proper dental care plays a significant role in maintaining good oral health. We investigated the relationship between regional deprivation and dental care utilization. METHODS: Multilevel logistic regression was used to identify the relationship between the regional deprivation level and dental care utilization purpose, adjusting for individual-level variables, in adults aged 19+ in the 2008 Korean Community Health Survey (n=220 258). RESULTS: Among Korean adults, 12.8% used dental care to undergo examination and 21.0% visited a dentist for other reasons. In the final model, regional deprivation level was associated with significant variations in dental care utilization for examination (p<0.001). However, this relationship was not shown with dental care utilization for other reasons in the final model. CONCLUSIONS: This study's findings suggest that policy interventions should be considered to reduce regional variations in rates of dental care utilization for examination.
