Perceptions of dental treatment need in Australian‐born and migrant populations

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate differences in self-perceived and dentist-determined treatment need in Australian-born and migrant residents of Australia. Participants in the National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-06 were categorized into six groups according to country of birth. Interview and examination data were used to analyze differences between self-perceived and the 'gold standard' examiner-determined treatment need, and to compare the accuracy of self-reporting according to country of birth. Self-reported treatment needs, defined as the need for a restoration and/or extraction, were cross-tabulated with clinically observed conditions and compared using a multivariable logistic regression model. Concordance between self-reported and clinically-determined treatment need differed significantly for migrants from Europe and the UK and Australian-born individuals. In the logistic regression model, stratification according to examiner-determined treatment need revealed significantly greater reporting of treatment need by Asian-born migrants than by the Australian-born reference group. The results of this study demonstrate that self-perceived treatment need was less than the examiner-determined findings in European and UK migrant groups and Australian-born individuals. Additionally, Asian migrants were more likely than Australian-born individuals to over-report treatment need for a filling and/or extraction.

A Cross-Sectional Study of Perceived Dental Treatment Needs and Oral Health Status in Community-Dwelling Older Australian Men: The Concord Health and Ageing in Men Project

“…These data confirm the notion that older people tend to underestimate their dental treatment needs as compared to younger generations. 34 As health literacy is generally lower in older people, it is important for elderly people to recognise the existence of any dental problem, rather than identifying a particular type of dental problem, due to fact that older people are more susceptible to oral diseases. 2 , 3 , 35 This may nullify the requirement of detailing the types of oral treatment needed; hence, for our study purposes, we have defined perceived dental treatment need as the broader perceived need without detailing the specific treatments such as cleaning, fillings, extractions or prosthetic need.…”

The Impact of Policy Modifiable Factors on Inequalities in Rates of Child Dental Caries in Australia

“…From here on, this outcome variable is called ‘proportion with caries’. Previous research in children has indicated that parent-reported single-item indicators of their children’s oral health have satisfactory construct validity [21,44,45,46]. Missing teeth due to “accident causing breakage or loss of teeth” or due to children’s teeth naturally falling out were excluded.…”

Immigrants experience oral health care inequity: findings from Australia's National Study of Adult Oral Health

“…a lower perception of need relative to examiner‐determined need) 22 . It has been argued that the reduced perception of need could be seen as a barrier to oral health care access because the process of seeking care is not initiated, leading to unmet dental care needs 22 . A similar argument could be proposed for self‐rated oral health, whereby an assessment of fair or poor oral health would trigger dental visits.…”

“…Discrepancies between self‐reported and clinically determined dental care need have been shown among immigrant populations in Australia, with underreporting of treatment need among people born in Europe, the United Kingdom and Australia (i.e. a lower perception of need relative to examiner‐determined need) 22 . It has been argued that the reduced perception of need could be seen as a barrier to oral health care access because the process of seeking care is not initiated, leading to unmet dental care needs 22 .…”

“…Prior research has been limited to state‐based surveys or small‐scale studies, and to date, a comprehensive national analysis is yet to be done 12–22 . Studies in Melbourne on the utilization of dental health services by Greek, Italian and Chinese immigrants pointed to the heterogeneity of dental care barriers between immigrant groups 12,13,16 .…”