Factors associated with self-reported dental visits among older melbournians. The MELSHA study 2008 data collection

Rodrigo Mariño*, Joanne Enticott, Mahmoud Elsamman, Rachel Etzion, Maryam Ferooz, Ryuun Fujihara, Hugo Hancock, Julian He, Hall Kendig, Colette Browning

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Objective: To describe self-reported oral health-care visits and associated factors in older adults in Melbourne, Australia. Material and Methods: 201 older adults, 79-96 years, took part in the Melbourne Longitudinal Studies on Healthy Ageing (MELSHA) in 2008. Participants who visited a dentist within 12-months prior were identified. Logistic regression examined factors associated with the 12-month visits. Results: 47.7% reported visits to the dentist in the previous 12 months. Multivariate analyses showed dentate participants (OR=11.27; 95% CI: 4.38-29.00) were more likely to have a 12-month visit, and; those receiving a government pension or benefit were less likely to have a 12-month visit (OR=0.38; 95% CI 0.18-0.79). Conclusion: Compared with existing data on the oral health of older Australians, MELSHA participants appear to have lower dental attendance. Findings highlight the need to increase older people sleeking oral health-care, and the need to collect information to identify influencers of oral health service usage.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)275-281
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of Oral Research
    Volume8
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

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