Routine dental visiting has been associated with better oral health quality of life. Conversely, cross-sectional data shows that poor oral health is associated with higher number of visits, although this relationship has not been studied prospectively. This study investigated the relationship between Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) severity as an oral health measure and dental service use over a 2 year period.
Method:
A random sample of 3000, 30-61 year old adults, from across Australia, were drawn from the electoral roll in 2009. Baseline data was collected in 2009-10 using a mailed questionnaire and at 1 and 2 years through both a questionnaire and a logbook of service use. Poisson regression was used to test the bivariate relationships and adjusted associations between OHIP severity and number of visits.
Result:
The baseline questionnaire response rate was 39.4%, of which 53.1% responded at 1-year follow-up and 46.8% at 2-year follow-up. Over 73% of respondents at the 2-year follow-up made at least one dental visit. Among those who made at least one dental visit, the mean number of visits was 3.97. The bivariate relationship between OHIP severity and number of visits was significant (P<0.05). After adjusting for age, sex, insurance status and household income, there was a significant association between oral health and number of visits. Among those who made at least one visit, those with a higher OHIP rating visited at a 23% higher rate (Rate Ratio=1.23, 95%CIs: 1.02 – 1.49) than those with lower OHIP scores.
Conclusion:
Using prospective visit data, there was a significant association between number of visits and severity of oral health impacts at baseline.