Prevalence and Factors Associated with Visiting the Dentist Only for Emergency Care Among Indigenous People in Ontario

Abstract

Ontario has the largest Indigenous population in Canada. This study aims to examine the prevalence and factors associated with poor dental care use amongst the Indigenous in Ontario. Data from the 2014 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey was used. The main outcome was defined as visiting the dentist only for emergency care. Stepwise multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the association between socio-demographic, socio-economic, and the health related factors and emergency dental care use. 28% of the participants reported visiting the dentist only for emergencies. First Nations people were at increased odds of having poor dental care (OR 2.01, CI 1.12–3.95). Additionally, being male, a smoker, having fair/poor health and lacking dental insurance puts the Indigenous Ontarians at increased odds of having the outcome. Improvements to the current social benefit programs could help better cater to the needs of this population.

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