Utilization of dental health services by Danish adolescents attending private or public dental health care systems.
The objectives of the study were: 1) to describe the choice of dental care system among 16-year-olds, 2) to describe the utilization of dental services among 16-17-year-olds enrolled in either public or private dental care systems, and to compare the dental services provided by the alternative systems. The study comprised 1,245 adolescents from 3 municipalities; the historical cohort study design was applied; and data were collected from dental records (public dental service) and dental claims (private practice). At age 16, 12% preferred being enrolled in the private practice system, while 88% remained in the public dental care system. During the 2-year study period the attendance rate was 99% for the public system, while 90% attended the private practice system (P< 0.001). Preventive dental services were provided more frequently by the public than the private system (P< 0.001). Despite the fact that the economic barrier was eliminated a lower attendance rate was observed for patients transferred to the private practice system.
Christensen
Lisa Bøge
LB
University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department for Community Dentistry, Denmark. lbc@odont.ku.dk
Petersen
Poul Erik
PE
Bastholm
Annelise
A
Lone
Laurberg
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002755:Choice Behavior; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003718:Denmark; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011313:Preventive Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011331:Private Practice / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011636:Public Health Dentistry / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011861:Radiography, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014081:Tooth Extraction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D005460:Fluorides, Topical