Determinants of dental treatment avoidance: findings from a nationally representative study

• Published in: Aging clinical and experimental research 2021-05, Vol.33 (5), p.1337-1343
• Main Authors: Spinler, Kristin, Aarabi, Ghazal, Walther, Carolin, Valdez, Richelle, Heydecke, Guido, Buczak-Stec, Elzbieta, König, Hans-Helmut, Hajek, André
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activities of daily living; Age groups; Aged; Aging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Care; Dental insurance; Dental research; Dentists; Female; Geriatrics/Gerontology; Germany - epidemiology; Health economics; Health services utilization; Humans; Income; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Older people; Oral diseases; Oral Health; Oral hygiene; Original; Original Article; Response rates
• ISSN: 1720-8319; 1594-0667; 1720-8319
• DOI: 10.1007/s40520-020-01652-7

Background Oral health care of older adults is of rising importance due to ongoing demographic changes. There is a lack of studies examining the determinants of dental treatment avoidance in this age group. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify those determinants. Methods Cross-sectional data were drawn from the second wave (year 2002) of the German Ageing Survey which is a population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals ≥ 40 years in Germany ( n  = 3398). Dental treatment avoidance was quantified using the question “Did you need dental treatments in the past twelve months, but did not go to the dentist?” [no; yes, once; yes, several times]. Socioeconomic and health-related determinants were adjusted for in the analysis. Multiple logistic regressions were performed. Results In terms of need, 6.7% of individuals avoided dental treatment in the preceding twelve months. Multiple logistic regressions revealed that dental treatment avoidance was associated with younger age (total sample [OR 0.978; 95% CI 0.958–0.998] and men [OR 0.970; 95% CI 0.942–0.999]), unemployment (total sample [OR 1.544; 95% CI 1.035–2.302] and men [OR 2.004; 95% CI 1.085–3.702]), lower social strata (women [OR 0.814; 95% CI 0.678–0.977]), increased depressive symptoms (men [OR 1.031; 95% CI 1.001–1.062]), and increased physical illnesses (total sample [OR 1.091; 95% CI 1.006–1.183] and men [OR 1.165; 95% CI 1.048–1.295]). The outcome measure was not associated with income poverty, marital status and physical functioning. Conclusions The present study highlights the association between dental treatment avoidance and different socioeconomic and health-related factors. These results suggest that it is necessary to promote the importance of dental visits.