Oral health and access to care among persons with a disability

Introduction: Poor oral health can be associated with additional health problems, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Persons with a disability (PWD) have been shown to report greater unmet oral health needs compared to persons without a disability (PWOD). This study examines reasons for lack of access to dental care as well as perceptions of dental health among PWD. Methods: Data from the 2008 National Health Interview Survey were used to determine level of oral health care, oral health self-perception and reasons for lack of access to care by disability status. Results: The prevalence of disability ranged from 3.1% (cognitive limitation) to 21.2% (movement difficulty), with 33.0% of all adults reporting any limitation. PWD were more than twice as likely as PWOD to report that the condition of their mouth was not as good as other people their age (26.1% vs. 11.5%). While PWD were less likely to have seen a dentist in the previous 12 months compared to PWOD (51.7% vs. 64.5%), the prevalence varied by type, with those with emotional limitation least likely to have seen a dentist (39.2%). PWD were more likely than PWOD to report lack of transportation (5.2% vs. 1.0%) or lack of affordability (47.1% vs. 31.4%) as reasons for not seeking dental care. Conclusion: PWD report lower self-perceived oral health, as well as higher frequencies of resource dependent reasons that they did not seek needed care when compared to PWOD. PWD must be explicitly included in efforts to improve access to oral health care.