Association of income inequality with orthodontic treatment use.
J Am Dent Assoc
; 151(3): 190-196, 2020 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32130948
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Income inequality has been associated with worse oral health outcomes and reduced dental care use. It is unknown whether income inequality may motivate people to seek orthodontic treatment.METHODS:
This was a logistic mixed-effects model of deidentified claims from a private insurer in the United States with enrolled members having at least 1 orthodontic visit in the calendar year as the dependent variable. Total number of dental visits, age, and sex were individual-level covariates. Median household income, Gini coefficient, female population proportion, number of practicing dentists and orthodontists, population size, and population density were zip code-level covariates.RESULTS:
A total of 1,860,709 people had at least 1 orthodontic claim. Adjusting for population demographics, the Gini index was significantly positively associated with orthodontic use for children but not for adults (odds ratio, 1.69 for children; P < .0001). Being female was the strongest predictor of orthodontic use for adults and was a significant predictor of use for children (odds ratio, 1.50 and 1.45, respectively; P < .0001).CONCLUSIONS:
The Gini index is associated with orthodontic use in children in a privately insured population. Individual characteristics are more predictive of orthodontic use among privately insured adults. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Demographic and economic traits of communities can affect oral health care use; effects on orthodontic use may be more dramatic than on other forms of oral health care.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Temas:
ECOS
/
Equidade_desigualdade
Bases de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Saúde Bucal
/
Renda
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Aspecto:
Determinantes_sociais_saude
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Equity_inequality
Limite:
Adult
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Child
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Female
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Humans
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Am Dent Assoc
Ano de publicação:
2020
Tipo de documento:
Article