Characteristics of dental attendance among Lithuanian middle-aged university employees.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to evaluate and describe the dental attendance patterns and to characterize the factors that encourage preventive dental visits among 35- to 44-year-old university employees in Lithuania.


METHODS
A questionnaire survey was conducted anonymously among the 35- to 44-year-old employees (n=862) of four universities in Lithuania in 2005. The response rate was 64% (n=553). Data on their most recent dental visit, habitual dental attendance, and self-reported dental health were collected. Gender, marital status, education, and income levels served as background factors. Of the respondents, 79% were women, and 82% held a university degree.


RESULTS
Of all the respondents, 75% reported having their most recent dental visit within the previous 12 months; 19% indicated a preventive check-up as the reason for it (15%--self-decided visit and 4%--dentist's recall). The most common treatments received were fillings (75%), scaling and cleaning (28%), and endodontic treatment (22%). Analysis of the data about habitual dental attendance showed that preventive check-up as the main reason for attendance was more commonly reported by women (OR=1.7), among those who indicated having lost fewer teeth (OR=1.5), reported higher incomes (OR=1.4), and who indicated a shorter time interval since their most recent dental visit (OR=1.3).


CONCLUSIONS
Dental problem seems to be a dominant reason for dental attendance in Lithuania where both dentists' and patients' behavior weakly reflects preventive orientation.
Sakalauskiene
Zana
Z
Department of Dental and Oral Pathology, Kaunas University of Medicine, Eiveniu 2, Kaunas, Lithuania. zana.sakalauskiene@med.kmu.lt
Maciulskiene
Vita
V
Vehkalahti
Miira M
MM
Kubilius
Ricardas
R
Murtomaa
Heikki
H
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004493:Education; D004708:Endodontics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008097:Lithuania; D008297:Male; D009790:Occupations; D016017:Odds Ratio; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011313:Preventive Dentistry; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014495:Universities