Dental Care Utilization among Veterans by Smoking Status

Oral cancer knowledge and screening behavior among smokers and non-smokers in rural communities

BACKGROUND

Research suggests having an oral and pharyngeal cancer (OPC) examination for early diagnosis can increase survival rate. However, the OPC screening rate is low in certain populations. To improve OPC screening rate, this study identified factors that are associated with having an OPC examination.

METHODS

Participants with landlines and aged 25 years and older were recruited from six northern Florida counties. Bivariate and logistic regressions were used to predict the outcome of whether the participants had ever had an OPC examination as well as whether participants had ever heard of an OPC examination.

RESULTS

Of 2260 participants with a mean age of 55.9 ± 15.0 years, the majority of participants never smoked (53.4%), self-identified as Whites (70.6%), and had some college or 2-year degree education (30.3%). Smokers were significantly less likely to have ever heard of an OPC examination than those who never smoked. Significant interaction between smoking status and race, and smoking status and social support interaction were found. Whites who never smoked were more likely to have had an OPC examination than non-Whites who never smoked. Former and current smokers with greater social support were more likely to have had an OPC examination than those with lower social support.

CONCLUSION

The findings from this study inform the need to enhance the awareness of having an OPC examination among smokers and to reduce barriers for racial minority populations to receive an OPC examination. Future research is warranted to develop interventions to target certain populations to improve the rate of OPC examination.

Association between dental consultation and oral health status among male Japanese employees

Objective

To investigate the association between dental consultation and oral health status among male Japanese employees.

Methods

The participants were 3351 male employees who received a workplace oral health examination conducted at the ages of 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, and 59 years before retirement in conjunction with an annual health checkup. Data on dental expenditures were collected from health insurance claims. The number of dental visits and dental care expenses, alone or in combination, were used as indices of the dental consultation status for the analyses. The effects of dental consultation status on oral health status (number of total teeth, number of decayed teeth, and periodontal status) were analyzed using multivariate multinomial logistic regression analyses adjusted for confounders.

Results

Multivariate analyses revealed that the odds ratio (OR) for 20‐27 teeth (losing 1‐8 teeth) was significantly higher (OR 1.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1‐1.7) in those who had a high number of dental visits and high dental care expenses than in those who did not have a dental visit. By contrast, the ORs for ≤19 teeth (losing ≥9 teeth), having ≥3 decayed teeth, or having a periodontal pocket ≥6 mm were significantly lower (OR 0.2, 95% CI 0.1‐0.6; OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.3‐0.6; OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.5‐1.0, respectively) in those who had fewer dental visits and lower dental care expenses.

Conclusions

These results imply that the dental consultation status is associated with oral health status among male employees.

Barrier to Access and Dental Care Utilization Behavior with Related Independent Variables in the Elderly Population of Saudi Arabia

Objectives:

The study aimed to evaluate barriers associated with access and utilization of dental services among the elderly population of Saudi Arabia.

Materials and Methods:

A systematic random sample of 350 elderly people recruited from various gathering places of the elderly including all nursing home residents (n = 73) was included in this study. The data were collected through face-to-face structured interviews related to access and utilization of dental services, and sociodemographic, behavioral, medical, and financial barriers to dental services. Statistical analysis included frequency distributions, chi-squared tests, and regression analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) program.

Results:

Approximately 37% of the elderly had proper access to and utilization of dental services. Independent variables that affect access and utilization of dental services were low income (odds ratio [OR] = 2.23, confidence interval [CI] = 1.34–3.72), unmarried participants (OR = 3.25, CI = 1.75–6.05), community residents (OR = 5.15, CI = 2.52–10.53), smokers (OR = 1.93, CI = 1.02–3.68), irregular users of toothbrushing (OR = 3.53, CI = 2.09–5.95), no dental insurance (OR = 1.88, CI = 1.06–3.37), and unaffordable price (OR = 2.55, CI = 1.38–4.69) in the bivariate analysis. In logistic regression analysis, the significant variables that were associated with proper access and utilization of dental services were having dental insurance (OR = 2.24, CI = 1.15–3.82), affordable prices (OR = 2.19, CI = 1.21–3.70), brushing regularly (OR = 3.58, CI = 2.01–6.37), higher education (OR = 1.87, CI = 1.10–3.20), and being married (OR = 1.68. CI = 0.97–2.91).

Conclusion:

Lack of perceived need, no dental insurance, unaffordable price, transportation, and fear from dental treatment were the most common significant barriers to dental services.