RESUMEN
An important part of Norwegian welfare policy is provision of free dental care for children up to the age of 18. After that age some counties have introduced a public subsidy scheme for young people aged 19-20 years, where 75% of their dental care expenses are covered. After the age of 21, all patients have to pay the costs for dental care themselves. The focus of the present work was to examine the effect that the public subsidy scheme for young adults had on demand for dental care, and its effect on dental health. The analyses were performed on 2 extensive sets of survey data. The major finding was that the public subsidy scheme had no effect on demand for dental care. In addition, there was no relationship between whether these young adults were covered by the subsidy scheme and dental health.
Asunto(s)
Servicios de Salud Dental/estadística & datos numéricos , Financiación Gubernamental/economía , Seguro Odontológico/economía , Programas Nacionales de Salud/economía , Adolescente , Adulto , Niño , Servicios de Salud Dental/economía , Femenino , Necesidades y Demandas de Servicios de Salud/economía , Humanos , Masculino , Noruega , Aceptación de la Atención de Salud , Revisión de Utilización de RecursosRESUMEN
The aim of the study was to assess the association between dental anxiety, oral health (evaluated by clinical and radiographic examinations), and utilisation of dental services. Results from correlation and regression analyses confirmed the generally held expectation that high dental anxiety would be associated with poorer oral health measured as numbers of decayed or filled surfaces. Significant, but weak, relationships were found between dental anxiety and utilisation measures, i.e. number of dental visits during the last year and time since last dental visit. Taken together, the data indicated that dental anxiety was a facet of more general negative oral health/preventive oral health related behaviour. Thus, high scores on this dimension were characterised by high dental anxiety, more oral health problems, inadequate dental attendance, slightly less frequent toothbrushing and larger intake of sweet soft drinks. However, the study also demonstrated that non-selected dentally anxious individuals as a group did not exhibit the almost complete avoidance pattern typical of patients seeking special treatment for dental fear. Even in the subgroup with particularly high dental anxiety, several individuals reported having been to the dentist during the last one or two years.
Asunto(s)
Índice CPO , Ansiedad al Tratamiento Odontológico/epidemiología , Atención Odontológica/estadística & datos numéricos , Personal Militar , Adolescente , Adulto , Bebidas/estadística & datos numéricos , Caries Dental/epidemiología , Restauración Dental Permanente/estadística & datos numéricos , Carbohidratos de la Dieta/administración & dosificación , Escolaridad , Conductas Relacionadas con la Salud , Humanos , Masculino , Noruega/epidemiología , Salud Bucal , Análisis de Regresión , Cepillado Dental/estadística & datos numéricosRESUMEN
The aim of the present study was to describe dental health and dental health behaviour among Norwegian recruits. Data were collected by questionnaires and clinical and radiological examinations among 1067 recruits in 1988. 23.7% of all recruits had no decayed teeth. The average DMFT score was 12.1 (SD = 4.69) and the number of decayed surfaces was 4.1 (SD = 5.97), 46.1% of all recruits had visited the dentist during the last year. The clinical findings (except x-ray scores) were compared with findings from similar studies in 1968 and 1978. The results showed that the dental health improved from 1968 to 1988, while the treatment need was similar in 1978 and 1988. There was little change in the regular dental attendance pattern from 1968 to 1988.