RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The authors conducted a study to examine the extent to which perceived social status in communities and in U.S. society in general and primary language are associated with having a dental home among four Hispanic groups. METHODS: The authors used random-digit-dialing technology to select a probability sample of Hispanic adults in Miami-Dade County, Fla., for a telephone-based survey. Trained interviewers administered the pretested survey instrument in Spanish or English. The authors used bivariate contingency tables and multiple logistic regression modeling to analyze the data. RESULTS: Eight hundred ten adults participated, and their nationality groups were as follows: Cuba (n = 450), Nicaragua (n = 139), Colombia (n = 132) and Puerto Rico (n = 89). After controlling for nationality group, the authors found that respondents who perceived themselves to be at a higher social status in the United States than in their own community were significantly more likely to have a dental home; those who reported having a higher community status were significantly less likely to have a dental home compared with respondents who perceived their national and community social status to be equal. Respondents who primarily spoke a language other than English at home were less likely than those who primarily spoke English to have a dental home. Female respondents were more likely than male respondents to have a dental home. Respondents with dental insurance were more likely to have a dental home than were those without dental insurance. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived social status and acculturation may influence whether Hispanics have a dental home. However, because of the sample design, the findings may not be generalizable to all Hispanic populations in Florida or the United States. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Reducing disparities in oral health status and in use of dental services among Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic whites may require attention to cultural factors such as language, community structure and immigrants' degree of acculturation.