Introduction: Oral health impacts much more than a person’s teeth and smile. Research indicates a connection between oral health and illnesses like cardiovascular disease and depression. Poor oral health could lead to social stigmatization and affects a person’s quality of life. Increased dental visits help detect and treat dental disease and offer opportunities for preventive care. Notably, the proportion of older adults in Tennessee is rapidly increasing, coupled with the growing complexity of older adults’ dental treatment. The first aim of this longitudinal study was to examine the prevalence of dental care visits among older persons (≥60 years) in Tennessee from 2010 to 2018. Our second aim was to examine the determinants of dental care visits among our target population.
Methods: This study used five even years of Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance system (BRFSS) data including years 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. BRFSS is a network of health-related telephone surveys conducted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and participating US territories. Our data was limited to Metropolitan and Micropolitan statistical areas, including East, Middle, and West Tennessee, while focusing on seniors (≥60 years old). Descriptive statistics were conducted. Weighting was conducted to account for the complex sampling design. Logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the factors associated with dental clinic visits among Tennessee seniors from 2010 to 2018. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The current study comprised of 5,362 Tennessee seniors. The year 2012 had the most seniors (1,324) and 2018 had the least number of seniors (787). About 64% of participants visited dentists or dental clinics within the past year while 18% reported that their last dental visit was ≥ 5 years ago. The percentage of older individuals visiting dental clinics within one year gradually decreased from 76.46% in 2010 to 71.17% in 2018. The majority of participants were females (51.7%), Whites (81.3%), never-smokers (46.3%), had good/better health (71.2%), and were located in Middle Tennessee (43.5%). Approximately 19% of Tennessee seniors removed all their permanent teeth. Logistic regression showed that those more likely to visit dentists or dental clinics included females (OR: 1.40; 95% CI: 1.11-1.77), former smokers (OR: 2.23; 95% CI: 1.46-3.41), never-smokers (OR: 2.21;95% CI: 1.46-3.35), individuals who had some college education (OR: 1.64 ;95% CI: 1.11-2.44), and graduated from college (OR: 2.74; 95% CI: 1.78-4.20). Likewise, individuals with a higher level of socioeconomic status, including a high income of $>50,000 (OR: 5.49; 95%CI: 3.60-8.36), were more likely to report dental visits. Conversely, Blacks (OR: 0.60; 95% CI: 0.43-0.82), participants with fair/poor health (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.51-0.84), and those that have never-married (OR: 0.46;95% CI: 0.29-0.74) were less likely to report dental visits.
Conclusions: The percent of Tennessee seniors visiting dental clinics within one year has gradually decreased from 76.46% in 2010 to 71.17% in 2018. The factors associated with a higher likelihood of seeking dental care include non-smoking status, identifying as females, and high socioeconomic status. Effective interventions to improve dental visits should take the identified factors into account.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1822 |
| Date | 07 April 2022 |
| Creators | Adeniran, Esther Adejoke, Liu, Ying |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum & Jay S. Boland Undergraduate Research Symposium |
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