The influence of dental insurance on institutionalized older adults in ranking their oral health status.
To assess whether dental insurance influences how institutionalized older adults ages 65 and older rank their oral health status, a census survey was designed for residents of Durham's (Canada) Municipal Homes for the Aged. The odds ratio (OR) and the Cochran & Mantel-Haenszel's OR were used to estimate the crude and adjusted effect of dental insurance on oral health status, respectively. Overall, 64 percent participated in the interview. Oral health status was ranked as "good," "very good" or "excellent" by 57 percent of the participants. This ranking was clearly unrelated to the residents having dental insurance, as only 28 percent had dental coverage. Significant effect modifiers included age, dental status and whether the participant had visited the dentist within the last year. Dental insurance positively influenced how dentate participants ranked their oral health status (OR = 2.26; 95 percent CI = 1.19; 4.28). In edentulous participants, age and visiting the dentist within the last year modified the effect of dental insurance on oral health status. Having dental insurance reduced the odds of reporting "good," "very good" or "excellent" oral health (OR = 0.20; 95 percent CI = 0.08; 0.49) among the participants ages 85 and older who did not visit the dentist within the last year; however, the opposite was true for their younger counterparts who visited the dentist within the last year (OR = 7.20; 95 percent CI = 1.08; 47.96). In this population, therefore, dental insurance was associated with higher oral health status rank among the dentate, but its effect on the edentulous population depended on age and the pattern of visiting the dentist.
Adegbembo
Albert O
AO
Division of Public Health Services and Research, College of Dentistry University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. aadegbembo@dental.ufl.edu
Leake
James L
JL
Main
Patricia A
PA
Lawrence
Herenia P
HP
Chipman
Mary L
ML
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D003729:Dental Care; D003817:Dentition; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006304:Health Status; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D007326:Institutionalization; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007347:Insurance, Dental; D008297:Male; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous / Q000523:psychology; D009909:Oral Health; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D012923:Social Class