Utilization of tooth filling services by people with disabilities in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: The oral condition of people with disabilities has considerable influence on their physical and mental health. However, nationwide surveys regarding this group have not been conducted. For this study, we used the National Health Insurance Research Database to explore the tooth filling utilization among people with disabilities. METHODS: Using the database of the Ministry of the Interior in 2008 which included people with disabilities registered, we merged with the medical claims database in 2008 of the Bureau of National Health Insurance to calculate the tooth filling utilization and to analyze relative factors. We recruited 993,487 people with disabilities as the research sample. RESULTS: The tooth filling utilization was 17.53 %. The multiple logistic regression result showed that the utilization rate of men was lower than that of women (OR = 0.78, 95 % CI = 0.77–0.79) and older people had lower utilization rates (aged over 75, OR = 0.22, 95 % CI = 0.22–0.23) compared to those under the age of 20. Other factors that significantly influenced the low tooth filling utilization included a low education level, living in less urbanized areas, low economic capacity, dementia, and severe disability. CONCLUSION: We identified the factors that influence and decrease the tooth-filling service utilization rate: male sex, old age, low education level, being married, indigenous ethnicity, residing in a low urbanization area, low income, chronic circulatory system diseases, dementia, and severe disabilities. We suggest establishing proper medical care environments for high-risk groups to maintain their quality of life.