Household income modifies the association of insurance and dental visiting

Abstract

BackgroundDental insurance and income are positively associated with regular dental visiting. Higher income earners face fewer financial barriers to dental care, while dental insurance provides partial reimbursement. The aim was to explore whether household income has an effect on the relationship between insurance and visiting.MethodsA random sample of adults aged 30–61 years living in Australia was drawn from the Electoral Roll. Data were collected by mailed survey in 2009–10, including age, sex, dental insurance status and household income.ResultsResponses were collected from n = 1,096 persons (response rate = 39.1%). Dental insurance was positively associated with regular visiting (adjusted prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.18; 95% CI: 1.01-1.36). Individuals in the lowest income tertile had a lower prevalence of regular visiting than those in the highest income group (PR = 0.78; 95% CI: 0.65-0.93). Visiting for a check-up was less prevalent among lower income earners (PR = 0.65; 95% CI: 0.50-0.83). Significant interaction terms indicated that the associations between insurance and visiting varied across income tertiles showing that income modified the effect.ConclusionsHousehold income modified the relationships between insurance and regular visiting and visiting for a check-up, with dental insurance having a greater impact on visiting among lower income groups.

Dental attendance among adult Finns after a major oral health care reform

“…Few studies (21,44) have found that possessing a dental insurance or lowering the out-of-pocket payments may have a greater impact on the use of oral health care services and regular dental visiting among low income groups compared to higher income groups. However, our results suggest that the use increased rather equally with respect to the level of household income after the OHCR.…”

Use of Public Oral Health Services by the Adult Population: A Multilevel Analysis

“…One obstacle to the use of oral health services is the financial cost of dental care and its relationship to income and the different health systems [ 9 ], both in developed and developing countries. Income has been identified as an explanatory factor for the use of oral health services [ 4 , 6 , 8 – 11 , 49 , 50 ] in several countries with different health systems. In Brazil, although there is a universal health care system [ 51 ], similar barriers are observed relating to income and therefore to the cost of services [ 15 – 20 , 27 , 52 , 46 , 53 , 54 ].…”

Preventive services in Australia by patient and visit characteristics

“…Those on lower incomes tend to have lower coverage for dental insurance than those on higher incomes, and increases in income‐related inequality in dental care use have been reported. However, benefits from insurance may be greater among lower socio‐economic status groups in terms of visiting and oral health, so policies that could improve insurance coverage for those on lower incomes may be beneficial.…”