Effect of Becoming Unemployed on Affordability of Oral Health Care among Australian Adults.

Introduction: Oral health care impacts of unemployment are not well understood. This is particularly important as many people, even in high-income countries, lack publicly funded oral health care, creating a financial burden for working-age individuals. This study aims to investigate the short-term effect of becoming unemployed on affordability of oral health care among working-age Australian adults.

Methods: Longitudinal data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey facilitated analysis of those employed in 2016 and examined the effect of becoming unemployed in 2017 on affordability of oral health care in 2018, adjusted for confounding with inverse probability weighting.

Results: Individuals who became unemployed were 2.95 (95% CI, 1.88 to 4.63) times more likely to not receive dental treatment when needed due to a lack of affordability as compared with individuals who remained employed (N = 6,529). On an absolute scale, the aforementioned difference in probability was 9% (95% CI, 3% to 15%).

Discussion: Becoming unemployed had a considerable and immediate negative impact on the affordability of oral health care among working-age Australian adults. Adequate welfare support services are needed to address the immediate financial hardship and consequences that may result due to unemployment.

Knowledge transfer statement: Using large population-based cohort data, we established that becoming unemployed hampers the ability to afford oral health care. Our study showed that this impact occurs within a year of unemployment, highlighting how quickly unemployment can create ripple effects for oral health care utilization, cascading into a potential lack of timely treatment or preventive therapies. Our findings highlight the need for adequate welfare support policies to address the immediate financial hardship and consequences that may result due to unemployment.