Examining related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization among people with disabilities in Taiwan, a nationwide population-based study.
People with disabilities in Taiwan get dental cleanings at shockingly low rates despite having validated assessment tools.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers looked at dental records for 1.2 million people with disabilities in Taiwan.
They checked who got dental calculus scaling over three years.
The team compared usage rates by age, gender, income, and where people lived.
What they found
Only a large share of people with disabilities ever got this basic dental cleaning.
That equals just 0.2 visits per person each year.
Women, younger adults, city dwellers, and richer families used the service more.
How this fits with other research
Chiu et al. (2014) and Chou et al. (2013) both built tools to assess disability needs in Taiwan.
These papers show Taiwan has good ways to measure who needs help.
But Lai et al. (2014) reveals a gap - even with good assessment tools, most people with disabilities still miss basic dental care.
Rispoli et al. (2011) and Verdugo et al. (2010) validated disability tools in Europe, yet no study shows actual dental usage there.
Why it matters
You can screen for dental needs during intake. Ask about last dental visit. Add dental referrals to behavior plans. Track if clients actually go. Simple tracking could double the current a large share usage rate.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Limited studies with large samples have been conducted on the utilization of dental calculus scaling among people with physical or mental disabilities. This study aimed to investigate the utilization of dental calculus scaling among the national disabled population. This study analyzed the utilization of dental calculus scaling among the disabled people, using the nationwide data between 2006 and 2008. Descriptive analysis and logistic regression were performed to analyze related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization. The dental calculus scaling utilization rate among people with physical or mental disabilities was 16.39%, and the annual utilization frequency was 0.2 times. Utilization rate was higher among the female and non-aboriginal samples. Utilization rate decreased with increased age and disability severity while utilization rate increased with income, education level, urbanization of residential area and number of chronic illnesses. Related influential factors for dental calculus scaling utilization rate were gender, age, ethnicity (aboriginal or non-aboriginal), education level, urbanization of residence area, income, catastrophic illnesses, chronic illnesses, disability types, and disability severity significantly influenced the dental calculus scaling utilization rate.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2014 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2014.05.014