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Oral health and access to dental care in Australia—comparisons by level of education
Author(s) -
South Australia
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/j.1834-7819.2006.tb00455.x
Subject(s) - apprenticeship , medicine , certificate , disadvantage , dental education , oral health , family medicine , toothache , demography , gerontology , dentistry , geography , archaeology , algorithm , sociology , computer science , political science , law
Summary There was significant variation in two of the four oral health indicators by education level. People with an education level of Year 10 or below and those who had completed a trade certificate/apprenticeship were significantly more likely to rate their dental health as ‘Very Poor’, ‘Poor’ or ‘Average’ than people who had completed a university degree. There was little difference between university graduates and people who had completed Year 11 or 12. People with lower education levels (Year 10 or below or trade certificate/apprenticeship) were also significantly more likely to report they had avoided eating certain foods during the last 12 months due to problems with their teeth or mouth than university graduates. The prevalence of toothache experience and the percentage of people reporting they had felt uncomfortable about their dental appearance during the last 12 months did not vary significantly by education level. People with lower education levels experience disadvantage in respect to access to dental services with significant variation in all access indicators by education level. People who had completed Year 10 or below and those who had completed a trade certificate/apprenticeship were significantly less likely to have recently visited a dentist than university graduates. Problem‐oriented dental visiting also varied significantly by education level. As education level increased the prevalence of people reporting they usually visit the dentist for a problem decreased significantly. University graduates were significantly less likely to have had an extraction during the last 12 months than people who had completed Year 10 or below or completed a trade certificate/apprenticeship. Dental insurance coverage increased significantly with level of education. University graduates were significantly more likely to have dental insurance than those who had completed Year 11 or 12. Similarly, those with Year 11 or 12 schooling were significantly more likely to have dental insurance than those who had completed Year 10 or below. University graduates were also significantly less likely to report they had avoided or delayed visiting a dental professional during the last 12 months due to cost than people with a lower level of education.