J Prev Med Public Health.  2015 Jul;48(4):195-202. 10.3961/jpmph.15.026.

Dental Care Utilization for Examination and Regional Deprivation

• Kim CS
• Han SY
• Lee SE
• Kang JH
• Kim CW

• KMID: 2381469
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.15.026

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.

Keyword

Utilization; Dental care; Dental health surveys; Residence characteristics; Multilevel analysis

MeSH Terms

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