Patterns of use of oral health care services and barriers to dental care among ambulatory older Chilean

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the patterns of use of oral health care services among ambulant 65-74 years or older adults, living in the Maule Region of Chile, factors associated with their use of oral health care services, and self-reported barriers to using oral health care services. METHODS: Four hundred and thirty eight older adults, aged 65–74 years, living independently in the community were orally examined and underwent an oral health interview. Recency of visits was related to the use of oral health care services within the 12 months prior to the study. RESULTS: 31.5% of respondents had used oral health services in the previous 12 months. In multivariate analyses, those living in rural areas (OR = 2.15; 95% CI:1.27–3.63), and those with secondary or higher education (OR = 1.65; 95% CI:1.03–2.64) visited the dentist in the last 12 months in a higher proportion. Those with more filled tooth-surfaces were more likely to have visited the dentist (OR = 4.02; 95% CI;3.58–4.51). Participants who self-reported dental fear, were less likely to have visited the dentist than those who did not (OR = 0.43; 95% CI;0.24–0.76). CONCLUSION: Comparing with existing data in Chile, participants in this study appear to have a slightly lower attendance. Findings question assumptions regarding oral health services utilization by rural residents and highlight the need to identify factors that influence the use of oral health services by older Chileans. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12903-016-0329-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.