IntroductionOne way of prevention and early detection of oral diseases is by utilizing the dental health care services on a regular basis. The current study aims to know the factors that play a role in influencing the dental service utilization in Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional survey using a self-administered questionnaire was designed and implemented. Study subjects comprised of patients visiting the dental clinics at Jazan University and the primary dental centers of five different suburbs in Jazan region of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Items in the questionnaire were grouped into three sections; “demographic details,” “self-reported dental visits,” and “potential factors” contributing to dental visits. Chi-square p-value of 0.05 or less was considered as significant and logistic regression with 95% confidence interval (CI) was performed to get more precise results.ResultsThe sample size was 395 (N) of which 44.8% were males and 53.4% were females. Less than half (45.8%) of the studied sample reported that their last visit to a dentist was within a span of one year and 33% of them think that a dentist should only be visited if they experience pain. Patients following instructions given by a dentist were 7 times [odds ratio (OR) = 0.13; CI = 0.04, 0.40] less likely to miss their regular dental appointments. Following this, patients receiving knowledge on their dental problems were seen to be twice (OR = 0.50; CI = 0.25, 0.98) less likely to be irregular with their dental visits. Finally, the patients who are better educated and literate were also 2 times (OR = 2.21; CI = 1.14, 4.28) more likely to be regular with their dental appointments in comparison with the patients who completed just their primary level education.ConclusionFindings of this study will facilitate future oral health prevention programs to be more focused, thereby reducing the gap between high and low educated sectors of the population residing in Jazan.How to cite this article: Quadri FA, Jafari FAM, Albeshri ATS, Zailai AM. Factors influencing Patients’ Utilization of Dental Health Services in Jazan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Int J Clin Pediatr Dent 2018;11(1):29-33.

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Objectives: To identify the unmet dental treatment needs and patterns of dental service utilization by adolescents in the Kingdom of Lesotho, Southern Africa, and characterize the best predictors for perceived oral health status and dental visits for these adolescents. Method: A self-reported 40-item oral health survey was administered, and clinical oral examinations were conducted in public schools in Maseru from August 10 to August 25, 2016. Associations between psychosocial factors with oral health status and dental service utilization were evaluated using simple, bivariate and multivariate regressions. Results: Five hundred and twenty-six survey responses and examinations were gathered. The mean age of participants was 16.4 years of age, with a range between 12 and 19 years of age. More than two thirds (68%; n=355) of participants were female. The majority reported their quality of life (84%) and general health to be good/excellent (81%). While 95% reported that oral health was very important, only 11% reported their personal dental health as excellent. Three percent reported having a regular family dentist, with the majority (85%) receiving dental care in a hospital or medical clinic setting; only 14% had seen a dental professional within the previous 2 years. The majority of participants did not have dental insurance (78%). Clinical examination revealed tooth decay on 30% of mandibular and maxillary molars; 65% had some form of gingivitis. In multivariate analysis, not having dental education and access to a regular dentist were the strongest predictors of not visiting a dentist within the last year. Conclusion: Our results suggest that access to oral health care is limited in Lesotho. Dental decay on molars was prevalent. Further patient oral health education and regular dental care may make an impact on this population.