Unmet dental health care needs in Serbia

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was the analysis of the social and health status characteristics of the population with unmet dental health care needs. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study included 20,069 respondents from the Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC) in the Republic of Serbia in 2014. Results: Nearly every sixth citizen (16.1%) reported unmet dental health care needs. Participants between the ages of 27 and 44 years (OR: 1.48, 95% CI: 1.21 - 1.82), and between 45 and 64 years (OR: 1.49, 95% CI: 1.19 - 1.86), participants who assessed their health status as: good (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.63 - 2.25), fair (OR: 3.16, 95% CI: 2.64 - 3.77), bad (OR: 3.65, 95% CI: 2.94 - 4.53), or very bad (OR: 4.22, 95% CI: 3.10 - 5.74), had a higher likelihood of reporting unmet dental health care needs. The most frequent reasons for unmet dental health care needs were financial obstacles to the accessibility of dental health care (66.6%) and fear or treatment (15.1%). Conclusion: The study found associations between unmet dental health care needs and social and health status characteristics. Health policy should adopt a multidimensional approach and eliminate barriers which restrict the accessibility of dental health care.