Provider expectations and consumer perceptions of the importance and value of dental care.

Seventy-eight inner city mothers of third and fourth grade children in three racial groups--white, black, and American Indian--known to need dental treatment for disease on permanent teeth, were interviewed at home by a trained community resident interviewer. Sixty-two per cent of the mothers were on public assistance. Information relating to the mothers' perceptions of the importance and value of dental care both for herself and for her children were collected. Utilization data were obtained via two dental examinations conducted one year apart. Data were also collected from a sample of provider dentists via mail questionnaire. A yield of 315 usable questionnaires was obtained, a return rate of 53 per cent. Provider-dentists felt that low socioeconomic consumers do not value dental services, as compared to other types of consumer goods and services, and that they do not believe dental care is important. Low income mothers in the same city reported that they did value dental care and believed it important. Expectations of and orientations toward the importance of dental care were found discongruent between the two groups of respondents. These discongruities on the dentist-patient relationship are discussed as a barrier to utilization. Although financial resources were available to many of the study families, only 49 per cent of these children received the needed care. It is suggested that the psychological cost to a patient of seeking care in inhospitable settings may act as a barrier to utilization.     

Oral Health of Children of Migrant Farm Workers in Northwest Michigan

A considerable number of Hispanic agricultural workers come to Northwest Michigan during the summer every year to harvest fruit and vegetable crops. The Department of Community Dentistry of The University of Michigan School of Dentistry helps provide dental services for these migrant workers and their families. Some 203 five-to-14-year-old children of migrant farm workers were examined for caries and periodontal condition and the results compared with recent national surveys. Traditional indicators of dental caries experience (DMFT/dft and DMFS/dfs indices), periodontal disease (PI), and oral cleanliness (OHI-S) were used by one examiner. These migrant children presented higher numbers of decayed teeth and lower numbers of restored teeth than United States schoolchildren generally. Migrant children also presented less caries-free teeth and higher PI and OHI-S scores than United States children generally.