Factors associated with use of dental services among HIV-infected and high-risk uninfected women.
OBJECTIVE
The authors explored the frequency of dental care utilization and identified the main barriers to access to dental care among U.S. women with HIV infection and uninfected women at high risk of becoming infected.


METHODS
The authors' prospective study included HIV-infected and uninfected women enrolled in the northern California and Chicago sites of the Women's Interagency HIV Study. A trained interviewer administered a standardized questionnaire to participants by phone. The authors explored subjects' utilization of dental care in relation to predisposing, enabling and need variables using both univariate and multivariate analyses.


RESULTS
The 363 participants were predominantly black and unemployed and had a history of using injected drugs. Not using dental care was most prevalent among HIV-negative women, particularly in Chicago. Multivariate analyses revealed that the strongest predictors of nonuse of dental care included being of a race other than white, fear of dentists and perception of poor or fair oral health.


CONCLUSIONS
Women not infected with HIV but at high risk of developing the infection appear to have even greater unmet dental needs than do HIV-positive women. Being of a race other than white and fear of dentists are strong predictors of not using dental care.


CONCLUSIONS
The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act facilitates dental care access for people who are HIV-positive, and is the likely explanation for the higher prevalence of dental care use in this group compared with uninfected women at high risk of becoming infected. This underscores the need for Medicaid to include dental coverage for low-income populations in all states.
Shiboski
Caroline H
CH
Oral Medicine Clinical Center, Department of Orofacial Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, Calif, 94143-0422, USA. caro@itsa.ucsf.edu
Cohen
Mardge
M
Weber
Kathleen
K
Shansky
Angela
A
Malvin
Kathy
K
Greenblatt
Ruth M
RM
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D044383:Black People; D002140:California; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002641:Chicago; D016854:Dental Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017742:Dental Care for Chronically Ill / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015658:HIV Infections; D018023:HIV Seronegativity; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D009909:Oral Health; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous; D014478:Unemployment; D001741:Black or African American