Factors associated with recent and regular non-use of dental services by students from a university in southeastern Brazil: a cross-sectional study

BMC Oral Health

Research

Rafaela de Oliveira Cunha¹  Isabel Cristina Gonçalves Leite² 

[1] Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, José Lourenço Kelmer, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil;Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, José Lourenço Kelmer, São Pedro, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil;School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Eugênio do Nascimento, Dom Bosco, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil;

关键词: Access to health services;    Oral health services;    Oral health;    Young adults;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12903-022-02648-7

 received in 2022-09-06, accepted in 2022-12-05,  发布年份 2022

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundLack of use of dental services can be a risk factor for oral health. In addition to recent visits to dental services, it is important to assess the regularity of use of these services, as well as the motivations for visiting the dentist. There is a gap in literature studies on the patterns of use of oral health services by the young university students. The goal of this study was to assess the factors associated with recent and regular non-use of dental services by young university students, using the Andersen model as a reference.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study with 477 university students between 18 and 24 years old, carried out as a web survey, through which predisposing, enabling and need variables were collected, according to the model proposed by Andersen, to test the factors associated with recent and regular non-use of dental services. Bivariate analyses and robust Poisson regression were performed, with estimation of crude and adjusted prevalence ratios, using confidence intervals of 95%. The variables with p < 0.05 remained in the final model.ResultsThe prevalence of recent non-use was of 19.5% (95% CI 16.0–23.3%), and of regular non-use, of 53.5% (95% CI 48.9–58.0%). After the adjusted analysis, the following were found to be associated with the outcome of recent non-use: type of service used (PR = 0.91; 95% CI 0.85–0.98) and perceived need for dental treatment (PR = 0.98; 95% CI 0.97–0.99); and the following variables were associated with regular non-use: father’s level of education (PR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.78–0.96), area of study (PR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.02–1.15), reason for last dental appointment (PR = 0.81; 95% CI 0.75–0.88), use of dental services throughout childhood (PR = 0.92; 95% CI 0.86–0.97), self-perceived oral health (PR = 0.86; 95% CI 0.76–0.88), and toothaches over the last 2 years (PR = 0.93; 95% CI 0.87–0.99).ConclusionThe motivation for young university students to use dental services are curative treatment needs, not prevention. The results point to the need to implement health prevention and promotion policies in higher education institutions and to expand access to dental services for this young population.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2022

【 图 表 】

Fig. 4