Niemann Kaitlyn, Ingleshwar Aparna, Paulson Danna R
Division of Dental Therapy Department of Primary Dental Care University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Department of Diagnostic & Biological Sciences University of Minnesota School of Dentistry Minneapolis, MN, USA.
J Dent Hyg. 2024 Dec;98(6):6-15.
Access to dental care has been an ongoing issue in the United States (US), impacting the individuals who directly experience the consequences of limited access to dental services. This study explores the relationship between residence in dental health professional shortage areas (DHPSA) and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) among dental patients. Subjects were recruited from the patient population of the University of Minnesota's prosthodontic clinic. Data were collected from 129 volunteers who completed surveys assessing oral health-related quality of life using the 5-item Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) in which higher scores indicate lower impact. The participants' residence in a DHPSA was determined, and demographic factors including age, gender, ethnicity, race, insurance type, education level, and number of teeth were also examined. Descriptive statistics and bivariable analyses were conducted to assess associations between variables. No significant association was found between residence in shortage areas and oral health-related quality of life. Participants residing in geographic (=0.38) and population shortage areas (=0.32) did not exhibit significantly different mean oral health impact profile summary scores compared to those in non-shortage areas. However, there was a significant difference in mean summary scores based on the number of teeth (=0.00), with participants having 0-19 teeth reporting a higher mean score (mean=6.6, SD=5.2) compared to those with 20-32 teeth (mean=3.3, SD=3.5). While certain demographic factors showed trends, such as Hispanic or Latino participants reporting higher oral health impact scores, and those with higher education levels reporting lower health impact scores, no statistically significant differences were found. Participants reported similar oral health impacts whether or not they lived in an area with a dental health professional shortage. This highlights the importance of considering multiple factors when understanding the impacts on oral health-related quality of life.
在美国，获得牙科护理一直是个持续存在的问题，这影响着那些直接承受牙科服务获取受限后果的个人。本研究探讨了居住在牙科保健专业人员短缺地区（DHPSA）与牙科患者口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQoL）之间的关系。研究对象是从明尼苏达大学口腔修复科诊所的患者群体中招募的。数据收集自129名志愿者，他们完成了使用5项口腔健康影响量表（OHIP）评估口腔健康相关生活质量的调查，得分越高表明影响越小。确定了参与者是否居住在牙科保健专业人员短缺地区，并检查了包括年龄、性别、族裔、种族、保险类型、教育水平和牙齿数量在内的人口统计学因素。进行了描述性统计和双变量分析以评估变量之间的关联。在短缺地区居住与口腔健康相关生活质量之间未发现显著关联。与非短缺地区的参与者相比，居住在地理短缺地区（=0.38）和人口短缺地区（=0.32）的参与者在口腔健康影响量表总分平均得分上没有显著差异。然而，基于牙齿数量（=0.00），平均总分存在显著差异，牙齿数量为0至19颗的参与者报告的平均得分（平均=6.6，标准差=5.2）高于牙齿数量为20至32颗的参与者（平均=3.3，标准差=3.5）。虽然某些人口统计学因素呈现出一定趋势，例如西班牙裔或拉丁裔参与者报告的口腔健康影响得分较高，而教育水平较高的参与者报告的健康影响得分较低，但未发现具有统计学意义的差异。无论是否居住在牙科保健专业人员短缺的地区，参与者报告的口腔健康影响相似。这凸显了在理解对口腔健康相关生活质量的影响时考虑多个因素的重要性。
