Assessing the factors affecting the accessibility of primary dental care for people with haemophilia.

INTRODUCTION

Patients with haemophilia (PWH) often have difficulty accessing dental services.

AIM

To determine the accessibility of dental care for PWH and to examine their perceptions of how coronavirus type-2 (CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) has affected their ability to access dental treatments following the pandemic.

METHODS

The questionnaire survey was conducted between July 2022 and December 2022 at haemophilia treatment centres in Hungary. Variables with statistical significance (Pearson's Chi-squared test; p < .05) were included in logistic regression analyses. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression was used as a machine learning technique to identify the most predictive variables.

RESULTS

Twenty-one percent of the sixty-eight participants reported that they had been refused dental treatment, mainly in primary care (86%). Dental refusal was influenced by infectious disease (OR: 4.48, CI: 1.14-17.69) and previous dental bleeding complications (OR: 4.23, CI: 1.10-16.27). There was correlation between dental visits and having a permanent dentist or receiving oral hygiene advice (OR: 9.95, CI: 2.86-34.62 and OR: 3.84, CI: 1.09-13.58). Participation in an oral hygiene consultation increased patients' satisfaction with their dental care (OR: 6.28, 95% CI: .71-55.88). Twenty-eight percent of patients had experienced difficulties since the start of the COVID-19, but 84% had visited their dentist at least once between 2021 and 2022 (p = .002). Nevertheless, 16% of respondents went for only the most necessary treatments due to pandemic.

CONCLUSION

Refusal of dental care was high among participants, especially in primary care. The COVID-19 pandemic has exaggerated the difficulties of PWH in accessing dental treatment.

HIGHLIGHTS

Patients with haemophilia (PWH) have difficulty accessing dental care, and the coronavirus type 2 (CoV-2) disease pandemic (COVID-19) has created a new barrier. The study revealed a high prevalence of dental care refusal (21%), particularly in primary care (86%). This 2022 survey found that 28% of patients experienced difficulties since the pandemic started and 16% only sought necessary treatments.