Comparison of Utilization of Dental Care Services Among Chinese- and Russian-Speaking Immigrant Elders

Abstract

Although Chinese- and Russian-speaking elders have similar immigrant experiences and share the same geographic location and urban setting, the two groups have different patterns of dental service use. These differences may be due to differences in socio-demographic characteristics, values, attitudes and knowledge of oral health and dental care, and unique cultural backgrounds.

Racial and Ethnic Variations in Preventive Dental Care Utilization among Middle-Aged and Older Americans, 1999–2008

“…However, the results are likely to be inconclusive given the caveat of the BRFSS sample excluding non-English speaking individuals in the study. The rates of dental cleaning for Asian Americans in our study were higher than the rate reported from Wu et al’s (7) study conducted among Chinese American elders aged 60 and older in 2000. One major reason for the rate discrepancy is likely due to the differences in data collection: the previous one was conducted in Chinese and the BRFSS survey was conducted in English.…”

“…Using the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (1997–2000) data, one descriptive study reported that 58% of the Asians aged 65 and above had visited a dentist in the previous year, slightly higher than the rate in Whites (56.6%); while the rate for Asians aged 45–64 was 66.1%, slightly lower than their white counterparts (67.6%) (6). While the NHIS study was administered in English to the Asian participants, using a convenient sample, another study conducted among Chinese American elders in their native language found that only 47% of the participants aged 60 and above reported having a dental visit within the previous year (7). …”

“…With regard to predisposing factors, females and married individuals are more likely to seek regular dental care (8, 13). Evidence has consistently shown that smoking is a risk factor for oral health (16, 17) and individuals who smoke use dental services less often (7, 18). Compared to those who abstain from drinking alcohol, one study found that moderate drinkers had a higher use of dental care (19).…”

A Review on the Oral Health Impacts of Acculturation

“…The use of dental services increased with length of residence in the United States among Chinese elderly immigrants [34] and adults of Hispanic or Asian origins [35], but not among the Russian elderly [34]. English proficiency was associated with dental visit in Hispanic adults but not in Asians [35].…”

Perceived need for and utilization of dental care in Indonesia in 2006 and 2007: a secondary analysis

“…A set of independent variables that were found in previous studies to be important predictors and that were available in the Susenas data was selected as a set of possible factors affecting the perceived need for and utilization of dental care services (6)(7)(8)(9). In the present study, the independent variables comprised of age (<15, 15-29, 30-44, 45-59, >60 years), gender (female or male), living standard quintiles (1st to 5th quintile), residence (rural or urban), macroregions (Sumatra, Java, Lesser Sunda Islands, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Maluku Islands including West Papua), and health insurance entitlement (uninsured or insured).…”