Variable confounding and the influence of non economic determinants on dental utilization for the elderly.

The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that variable confounding will cause discrepancies in dental utilization analysis and to determine the significance of gender, health status, and race on dental utilization by controlling for several predictor variables previously reported to be associated with dental care utilization. Results provide supporting evidence that discrepancies in dental utilization analysis can occur as a result of variable confounding. In addition, parameter estimates indicate that older women and white adults were more likely to visit a dental office than either older men or older blacks. On the other hand, older adults reported to be in poor health were no more likely to visit a dentist than older adults in excellent health.