title: Oral health, oral pain, and visits to the dentist: neighborhood influences among a large diverse urban sample of adults.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the association between oral health and individual-level characteristics as well as both socioeconomic position (SEP) and service provision characteristics at the neighborhood level. Multilevel logistic analysis was undertaken of data from the Neighbourhood Effects on Health and Well-being Study in Toronto comprising 2,412 participants living in 47 neighborhoods and 87 census tracts. Three oral health outcomes were investigated: last dental visit, self-rated oral health, and self-rated oral pain. Results indicated that SEP was significantly associated with no dental visits in the last year, poor self-rated oral health, and experiencing oral pain after adjusting for age, gender, and immigrant status. Lack of dental insurance was associated with no visits to the dentist in the last year and poor self-rated oral health; however, no association was observed with oral pain. In adjusted regression models, few neighborhood level variables were significantly associated with dental visits and self-rated oral health and no neighborhood variables were associated with oral pain. Based on these results, SEP appears to be important in evaluating oral health outcomes. While insignificant in this study, neighborhood factors are important when considering the impact of service provision on oral health.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael's Hospital, 209 Victoria Street, Third Floor, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5C 1N8, heidialyssa@rogers.com.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Borenstein
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Renahy
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quiñonez
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Campo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003815:Dentists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*