Barriers to oral health care utilization in Ibadan, South West Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Barriers to oral health utilization are many, but those that are significant for our environment are not yet clear. The current study was designed to identify and graduate the barriers to receipt of oral health care among a cross-section of patients attending our centre. We also investigated the influence of socio demographic factors on the highly rated barriers.

Access and management of HIV‐related diseases in resource‐constrained settings: a workshop report

“…People living with HIV (PLWHA) have special oral health care needs and yet experience the highest number of barriers in seeking treatment (Lacharpagne et al , ) (Scully and dis Dioz, 2001, Dis Dios and Scully, 2002). In situations where health care systems are struggling to provide basic services such as viral load testing, universal TB screening and consistent supply of antiretroviral medications, provision of comprehensive care, including oral health care is not prioritized (Ajayi and Arigbede, ). Guidelines for treatment of HIV associated lesions however recommend an integrated approach to oral diseases in PLWHA, emphasizing the importance of oral health in optimizing nutrition and overall quality of life (Centers for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health, and the HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, ).…”

Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) and its association with dental treatment needs of adolescents in a rural Nigerian community

“…This is especially true as it has been established that the absence of perceived needs is a major factor for not utilizing dental services 3 . Rural communities in many parts of Africa are faced with inaccessibility to and poor utilization of dental care services and high unmet dental needs both in children and adults [7][8][9][10] . Children in these communities are noted to have poor oral hygiene and high prevalence of untreated dental caries 8,11,12 .…”

Socio-Demographic Determinants Of Utilization Of Dental Services Among Secondary School Students

“…Although there is no standard definition of "adolescent" (8), Lack of utilization of dental services among the young have been attributed to age (1,9), gender (1,(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), socioeconomic position (18), ethnic background, (9,16,17) oral health related behavior,(10) smoking habits (11) and poor perceived oral health status (16,19). Fear of dentist (20) and dental injection,(21) cost of treatment, (21) fear of contracting infection, (21) no access to dentists,(21) dissatisfaction with previous dental treatment (20) and transportation problems (21) have also been reported in Nigeria.…”

“…It has been reported that the reason for utilization of oral health services is often related to the presence of symptoms (2,20,21) with the utilization of curative and/or rehabilitative services during adolescence often driven by the presence of pain (1). Girls were more likely to visit the dentist frequently than boys because of symptoms in Chile (2).…”