The psychosocial background of dental care avoidance: A qualitative study

• Published in: Oral diseases
• Main Authors: Lukács, Márton, Fábián, Balázs, Bugán, Antal, Varga, István
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark 06.10.2024
• Subjects: Patients' attitudes; qualitative research; health services; dental anxiety; dental care avoidance
• ISSN: 1354-523X; 1601-0825; 1601-0825
• DOI: 10.1111/odi.15136

Dental care avoidance affects individuals' oral health status. There is limited literature examining the context of dental avoidance behavior. The aim of the study is to examine attitudes toward dental care services among adults. Overall, 16 patients participated in semi-structured interviews. The interviews were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Through independent reviews of the themes that comprise the patients' experience, a consensus was established among the researchers. Ten major themes were identified that encapsulate patients' attitudes toward dental care attendance: Effect of environment and equipment, Fear and anesthesia, Procrastination, Dissatisfaction with the dental care system, Expectations of dentists, Quality of dental care, Edentulousness and social status, Financial involvement, Aesthetics, and Dentists' behavior. Compliance with oral health maintenance can be enhanced by specific training for professionals and dentistry students and by fine tuning the dental care system. This is the first comprehensive study in Hungary investigating attitudes among dentist patients toward dental care. The results suggest that there are many factors that may affect dental care attendance. Thus, these findings make a potentially fundamental contribution to the improvement of dental care and support practitioners in enriching their understanding of dental avoidance behavior.