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Associations of Medical Visits with Dentist Visits: A Register-Linkage Study of a Working-Age Population in Finland

Author

Listed:
  • Mikko Nurminen

    (Research Unit, The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, P.O. Box 450, 00056 Helsinki, Finland)

  • Jenni Blomgren

    (Research Unit, The Social Insurance Institution of Finland, P.O. Box 450, 00056 Helsinki, Finland)

Abstract

Studies have usually addressed the utilization of either medical or dental services, and less is known about how medical and dentist visits are associated. As oral health is linked to systemic health, knowledge on care coordination between dental and medical services is important to gain understanding of the overall functioning of health care. Register data on 25–64-year-old residents of the city of Oulu, Finland, were used for the years 2017–2018 (N = 91,060). Logit models were estimated to analyze the probability of dentist visits, according to the number of medical visits in total and by three separate health care sectors. The majority, 61%, had visited both a medical professional and a dentist. All sectors combined, as few as one to two visits increased the odds of dentist visits (OR: 1.43, CI: 1.33, 1.53). When separated by medical professionals’ health care sectors, for one to two visits, the strongest association was found with public (OR: 1.17, CI: 1.12, 1.22) and private sector (OR: 1.35, CI: 1.30, 1.41). For occupational health service visits, the odds increased only after six or more visits. The results support the idea of integrated medical and dental care. However, the result may also arise from individual health behavior where health-conscious persons seek both medical and dental care independently.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikko Nurminen & Jenni Blomgren, 2021. "Associations of Medical Visits with Dentist Visits: A Register-Linkage Study of a Working-Age Population in Finland," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-12, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:13337-:d:705425
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Strauss, S.M. & Alfano, M.C. & Shelley, D. & Fulmer, T., 2012. "Identifying unaddressed systemic health conditions at dental visits: Patients who visited dental practices but not general health care providers in 2008," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 102(2), pages 253-255.
    2. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2017.303683_0 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Lien Nguyen & Unto Häkkinen, 2006. "Choices and utilization in dental care," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 7(2), pages 99-106, June.
    4. Martin, S.A. & Simon, L., 2017. "Oral health and medicine integration: Overcoming historical artifact to relieve suffering," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107, pages 30-31.
    5. Mikko Nurminen & Jenni Blomgren & Hennamari Mikkola, 2021. "Socioeconomic differences in utilization of public and private dental care in Finland: Register-based evidence on a population aged 25 and over," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-16, August.
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