We study the extent and drivers of income-related inequity in utilization of dental services in Canada using the concentration-index approach that has been widely applied to study inequity in physician and hospital services. Because dental care is almost wholly privately financed in Canada, our estimates provide a benchmark for income-related inequity of utilization in private health systems. A...

The purpose of this article is to describe alternative means of providing patient centered, preventive based, services using an alternative non-profit, economic model. Hard to reach, vulnerable groups, including children, adults and elders, often have difficulties accessing traditional dental services for a number of reasons, including economic barriers. By partnering with community organizatio...

OBJECTIVE Several parental factors influence children's use of oral health services. Some localized studies have shown that children's dental use patterns correlate positively with those of their parents. The objective of this study was to investigate associations between parents' and children's oral health-seeking behaviors among a representative sample of US children. METHODS We used the 20...

BACKGROUND The utilization of oral health services in children remains at a relatively low level in China. However, little is known about the utilization patterns and related factors. The objective of this study was to explore the patterns of oral health service utilization and to determine the related factors among preschool children in Beijing, China, based on the Andersen behavioral model. ...

This paper reviews the healthcare system, available dental care, and oral health status of people in Pakistan. Considering the enormous unmet oral health needs, the insufficient supply of dental professionals and the current unstructured dental hygiene curriculum in Pakistan, a mission, vision, and goals for professional dental hygiene in Pakistan is recommended. The authors offer recommendatio...

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, in the first half of the twentieth century, Britain's working-class population had poor dental health. Richard Hoggart, for example, recalled of his childhood in the Hunslet area of Leeds that he and his contemporaries were very aware of "corns, bad eyesight, corrected by cheap spectacles (Woolworths usually), indigestion, flatulence and constipation.... ailmen...

Tobacco use adversely affects oral health and dental care. Globally, the health consequences of tobacco use are worsening, particularly those caused by cigarette smoking. Concerned government and nongovernmental organizations are attempting to contain the transnational tobacco companies' promotion of tobacco use and its disregard for the serious health consequences. Dependence prevents most tob...

There is an escalating demand for geriatric oral healthcare in all developed and developing countries including India. Two-thirds of the world’s elderly live in developing countries. This is a huge population that must receive attention from policy-makers who will be challenged by the changing demands for social and health services including oral health services. Resources are limited thus rath...

BACKGROUND The aims of this study are to assess the influences of demographic and personal factors on Jordanian adults' abilities to use dental services and the barriers to regular attendance. METHODS A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 650 Jordanian adults attending King Abdullah University Hospital (KAUH) (n = 200), Jordan University of Science and Technology-De...

OBJECTIVES To document the trends in expenditures on dental health care services and the number of dental health care professionals in Canada from 1990 to 1999. METHODS Information on dental and health expenditures, numbers of dentists, hygienists and dental therapists, and the population of Canada and the provinces were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information; data on num...