Barriers to the utilization of dental services in Shimla, India

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the barriers to regular dental attendance for check- up in a rural population in Shimla Himachal Pradesh. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among 319 adults in the area of Thari Panchayat, Shogi, Shimla. The data was analyzed by SPSS version 13. Statistical tests used were chi square and multiple-variate analysis. Results: The response rate of the study was 96.8%. 46 (15.1%) visited a dentist within the previous one year. The most common reasons for the last dental visit were pain or a dental emergency (208, 68.5%). The most commonly reported reason for not seeking dental care was “no need to visit a dentist unless there is pain” by 190 (62.5%) in bivariate analysis as well as in multiple logistic regression analysis (Odds ratio: 1.95; CI: 1.71-2.22). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that only a small portion of population visited dentist in previous one year. They believe that visiting a dentist is necessary only for pain relief. Thus it is important to give them awareness programmes about the good oral health and motivating them to use the services available.

Attitudes of Auto-rickshaw Drivers Towards Oral Health Care, Barriers of Dental Service Utilization in Vikarabad, Telangana, India

“…This was similar to a study conducted by Fotedar et al, in Shimla, India on general population which showed that 62.5% of participants did not visit the dental hospital. 3 The finding of this study was similar to a study conducted by Nagarjuna et al, among patients visiting community health centers, in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh where 51.0% did not report to a dentist just because they do not consider dental diseases as serious. This study suggests that they are not aware of the about the maintenance of good oral health and regular visit to the dentist.…”

“…1 Regular home oral care in specific occupational groups like that of Omoigberai et al which showed their poor pattern of dental visits. 3 Soni et al which concluded that the knowledge of the study participant was poor.…”

“…In spite of these, it is hard to understand that very few people believe in regular dental care. 3 The dental health of the general population in developed countries has improved over the past few decades, but people from developing countries continue to have a high level of dental disease. Evidence shows the suboptimal utilization of dental services has been repeatedly reported for the population from developing countries.…”

Motivating Factors for Seeking Oral Health Care at a Teaching Dental Hospital in South India: A Cross-sectional Study

“…The findings of the study show that "toothache" (50.4%) is the main reason for visiting a dentist, and this is in accordance with the results from previous studies done by Fotedar 3,7,8,[14][15][16] Dental pain adversely affects the quality of life, normal functioning, and daily living of people, 17,18 and most dental visits are aimed at immediate relief of pain. It could be inferred from the above finding that there may exist a belief among a majority of population that dental visit is elective unless there is pain.…”

“…In developing countries like India, evidence repeatedly shows suboptimal utilization of dental services. 3 Preventive dental visits help in the early detection and treatment of oral diseases. 4 But the provision of preventive dental care for adults depends on the individual patient's initiatives in utilizing dental care.…”