title: Characteristics of dental emergency clinic patients with and without disabilities.
abstract: This study compared oral health and demographic characteristics of patients with and without disabilities at a dental school emergency clinic. Of 407 consecutive patients surveyed, 20.4% reported disabilities. Two groups matched by age and gender, those with disabilities (DIS, n = 79) and those without disabilities (ND, n = 177), were compared on questionnaire responses; two subgroups, DIS (n = 38) and ND (n = 44), were assessed clinically. The mean ages of the DIS and ND groups were 44.0 years (SD +/- 11.6) and 43.0 years (SD +/- 12.3), respectively. By chi-squared analysis, DIS vs. ND subjects had significantly lower levels of education, employment, income, and dental insurance, and greater dependence on Government funding. In the DIS group, 79.5% were not working, while 6.4% did work regularly. In the ND group, the corresponding values were 30.9% and 46.9%, respectively. In the DIS group, 51.9% identified Medicaid acceptance as the reason they sought care at the clinic, while 62.7% of the subjects in the ND group identified the lower fee structure as the reason for clinic selection. More DIS than ND subjects reported dentists' unavailability and inability to manage the disability, lack of transportation, effect of dental problems on health, and referral by a health professional. DIS vs. ND subjects had significantly fewer sound teeth and more missing teeth. The results suggest that one in five dental school emergency clinic patients has disabilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Box 356370, Seattle, WA 98195-6370, USA. rigmor@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Stiefel
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Griffith
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Truelove
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003710:Demography; D003729:Dental Care; D003730:Dental Care for Persons with Disabilities; D003740:Dental Clinics; D004522:Educational Status; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D004651:Employment; D005250:Fees, Dental; D005260:Female; D005380:Financing, Government; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D007347:Insurance, Dental; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D009909:Oral Health; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012575:Schools, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000145:classification; D014187:Transportation of Patients; D014481:United States; D014861:Washington