GGM
Journal of Gerontology
and Geriatric MedicineISSNISSN 2697-4509 (Online)
ปีที่ 22 ฉบับที่ 2-3 พฤษภาคม-ธันวาคม 2023 (54-60)
Dental Care Expenditure and Related Factors Among Older Patients in a University Dental Hospital, Thailand
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Abstract
This study aimed to identify the factors associated to dental health spending in the older people. This retrospective descriptive study, involving secondary data analysis, was conducted during the period of February to March 2023. Independent variable data were extracted from an initial telephone-based survey, while dependent data on dental health expenditures were obtained from the University Dental Hospital's record system. Descriptive statistics, including median and range, were employed to present age and dental health expenditure. Categorical variables i.e., age group, income level, educational level and self-rated oral health were presented using frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics involved the application of Pearson’s Chi-squared test to assess associations among categorical variables. A total of 367 older people were incorporated into this study. Through the utilization of Pearson's chi-squared test, statistically significant relationships were discovered between dental health expenditure and some independent variables, including educational level (p=0.032), monthly income (p=0.003), and self-rated oral health (p=0.017). On the other hand, there was no significant association between age and dental health expenditure (p=0.105). There are the association between higher educational level, higher income and good or fair self-reported oral health with higher dental health expenditure. As a result, there is a pressing need to actively advocate for the promotion of self-assessed oral health awareness within the Thai older people who received dental treatment at university dental hospital in Bangkok.
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Keyword
Geriatric dentistry, Older people, Dental expenditure, Oral health, University dental hospital.
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