Characteristics of Individuals in Japan Who Regularly Manage Their Oral Health by Having a Family Dentist: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey

Katsuo Oshima (), Hiroko Miura, Rumi Tano and Hideki Fukuda
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Katsuo Oshima: Department of Dental Technology, The Nippon Dental University College, Tokyo 102-8159, Japan
Hiroko Miura: Division of Disease Control and Epidemiology, School of Dentistry, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Tobetsu 061-0293, Hokkaido, Japan
Rumi Tano: Department of Health Promotion, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama 351-0197, Japan
Hideki Fukuda: National Institute of Public Health, Saitama 351-0197, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-14

Abstract: Dental healthcare systems may differ between countries; however, having a family dentist is generally important for proper oral health management. This study aims to analyze the proportion of people in Japan who have a family dentist, and their characteristics. A nationwide web-based survey with 3556 participants (1708 men and 1848 women) showed that 45.6% of men and 54.1% of women had a family dentist (FD group). A multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that men in the FD group mostly belonged to older age groups (≥70 s, OR: 2.41), received higher household incomes (≥8000 K JPY, OR: 1.47), brushed their teeth three or more times daily (OR: 1.60), practiced habitual interdental cleaning (OR: 3.66), and fewer lived in rural areas (towns and villages, OR: 0.52). Regarding the women, the majority belonged to older age groups (60 s, OR: 1.52; ≥70 s, OR: 1.73), practiced habitual interdental cleaning (OR: 3.68), and fewer received lower household incomes (<2000 K JPY, OR: 0.61). These results suggest that despite Japan being a country with a public insurance coverage system for both men and women, having a family dentist is associated with disparities in individual socioeconomic factors, particularly age and household income.

Keywords: family dentist; oral health; health policy; dental visits; web-based survey; Japan; public insurance system; socioeconomic factors (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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