title: Oral healthcare for older people: 'I can't afford not to go to the dentist, but can I afford it?'.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to examine challenges older people encounter in maintaining satisfactory oral health status.
  
  
  METHODS
  This interpretive qualitative study involved 19 in-depth interviews with participants aged 65 to 87 years. Data were examined using a three-level analytic process. NVivo Qualitative Software assisted data management.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants in this study didn't 'just go' to the dentist. Much effort went into solving the dilemmas and tensions of maintaining their oral health through a process of option balancing. Balancing personal and financial costs, they continually assessed their 'bottom line'. They negotiated issues of: dental cost versus service quality; basic treatment versus functionality and social appearance; future living costs versus current dental costs; and 'how long will it need to last' versus 'how long will I live'?
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Problems exist in the provision of affordable oral health care for the older population in Aotearoa New Zealand. They struggle to afford dental care. They receive little financial support to access oral healthcare services and are dependent on developing their own strategies to enable such care. Health professionals and policy decisionmakers' challenge is to bridge this gap.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, AUT University, Auckland. lynne.giddings@aut.ac.nz
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giddings
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McKenzie-Green
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Buttle
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tahana
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003657:Decision Making; D016321:Dental Care for Aged / Q000191:economics* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand; D009909:Oral Health