Factors associated with access to dental care among Korean adults

초록

Objectives: The aim of this analysis was to investigate factors associated with dental visits in terms of getting diagnosis and receiving care for diagnosed dental diseases among Korean adults. Methods: Data used in this analysis were from the 2005 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey which involved a representative sample of 25,487 adults nineteen years of age and older who resided in Korea. This analysis used data of adults who had completed health interview survey (n = 25,215). Uni- and bi-variate analysis, Chi-square test, and logistic regression analyses were conducted using SAS. Results: The percentages of people diagnosed (treated) dental caries, periodontal disease, and temporomandibular joint disorder were 70.4(77.1), 16.1(55.7), and 0.6(37.4), respectively. The reception of treatment for diagnosed dental caries and periodontal disease was significantly associated with older age, high monthly household income, and high education attainment. Logistic regression model indicated that age, monthly household income, education attainment, type of health insurance, and chewing problem were significantly associated with getting diagnosis and treatments of dental diseases. Most frequently answered reason for non- or delayed treatments of diagnosed dental diseases during the last one year was cost of treatments. Conclusions: The findings indicated that socio-economic-status still significantly affected reception of needed dental treatments among Korean adults despite the national health insurance system. Oral health policy and programs should be augmented to provide further support to adults of low socio-economic-status who are more prone to dental diseases yet lack resources for needed dental treatments.

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