Association between Subjective Well-Being and Frequent Dental Visits in the German Ageing Survey

Richelle Valdez, Ghazal Aarabi, Kristin Spinler, Carolin Walther, Udo Seedorf, Guido Heydecke, Elzbieta Buczak-Stec, Hans-Helmut König and André Hajek
Additional contact information
Richelle Valdez: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Ghazal Aarabi: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Kristin Spinler: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Carolin Walther: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Udo Seedorf: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Guido Heydecke: Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Center for Dental and Oral Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Elzbieta Buczak-Stec: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
Hans-Helmut König: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
André Hajek: Department of Health Economics and Health Services Research, Hamburg Center for Health Economics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-10

Abstract: The relationship between subjective well-being (SWB) and frequent attendance is understudied. This study used data from a large German sample of non-institutionalized individuals aged 40+ in 2014 ( n = 7264). SWB was measured using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Number of self-reported dental visits in the past twelve months was used to measure the utilization frequency of dental services. Individuals with at least four dental visits in the preceding year (highest decile) were defined as frequent dental visits. Robustness checks were performed using alternative cut-offs to define frequent dental visits. Multiple logistic regressions showed that frequent dental visits (highest decile) were associated with less satisfaction with life [OR: 0.89, 95%-CI: 0.80–0.99] and higher negative affect [OR: 1.41, 95%-CI: 1.22–1.64], whereas it was not significantly associated with positive affect. Both associations depended on the cut-off chosen to define frequent dental visits. The present study highlights the association between SWB (particularly negative affect and low life satisfaction) and frequent dental visits. Further studies evaluating patients’ motivation for high dental service use are necessary to check the robustness of our findings.

Keywords: dentistry; subjective well-being; life satisfaction; affect; dental visits; frequent attender; dental care utilization; dental care use; positive affect; negative affect; affective well-being (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/3207/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/9/3207/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:9:p:3207-:d:354192

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().