Premium
Oral health and welfare state regimes: a cross‐national analysis of European countries
Author(s) -
GuarnizoHerreño Carol C.,
Tsakos Georgios,
Sheiham Aubrey,
Watt Richard G.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
european journal of oral sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.802
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1600-0722
pISSN - 0909-8836
DOI - 10.1111/eos.12049
Subject(s) - eurobarometer , welfare , welfare state , oral health , dentition , typology , population , demography , medicine , environmental health , geography , european union , economics , dentistry , political science , international economics , sociology , market economy , archaeology , politics , law
Very little is known about the potential relationship between welfare state regimes and oral health. This study assessed the oral health of adults in a range of European countries clustered by welfare regimes according to Ferrera's typology and the complementary Eastern type. We analysed data from Eurobarometer wave 72.3, a cross‐sectional survey of 31 European countries carried out in 2009. We evaluated three self‐reported oral health outcomes: edentulousness, no functional dentition (<20 natural teeth), and oral impacts on daily living. Age‐standardized prevalence rates were estimated for each country and for each welfare state regime. The Scandinavian regime showed lower prevalence rates for all outcomes. For edentulousness and no functional dentition, there were higher prevalence rates in the Eastern regime but no significant differences between Anglo‐Saxon, Bismarckian, and Southern regimes. The Southern regime presented a higher prevalence of oral impacts on daily living. Results by country indicated that Sweden had the lowest prevalences for edentulousness and no functional dentition, and Denmark had the lowest prevalence for oral impacts. The results suggest that Scandinavian welfare states, with more redistributive and universal welfare policies, had better population oral health. Future research should provide further insights about the potential mechanisms through which welfare‐state regimes would influence oral health.