Unmet dental care needs and reported reasons: a comparison between adults with and without disabilities

OBJECTIVES: To assess disparities in unmet dental care needs between adults with and without disabilities and the reasons for not being able to get needed dental care.

METHODS: We analyzed data from the 2015-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES). The main outcome variable was unmet dental care needs (yes/no)-not being able to get dental care when needed in the past 12 months. The independent variable, disability status, was classified by whether an individual has serious difficulty in conducting any of the following six activities: hearing, seeing, mobility, self-care, cognition, or independent living. The analytical sample included 11,288 adults ages 20 years and older. We used multiple logistic regression to assess the association between disability status (measured by any disability [yes/no], six different types[yes/no], and number of disabilities) and unmet dental care needs. The differences in reasons for not being able to get needed dental care were also assessed by disability status. Data analysis accounted for the complex survey design of NHANES.

RESULTS: Adults with any disability were more likely to have experienced unmet dental needs (AOR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.71-2.33) than those without disabilities. There was a linear relationship between the number of disabilities and higher odds of experiencing unmet dental care needs (P < .01). The top two reasons for not being able to get needed dental care were "Cannot afford the cost" and "Insurance did not cover."

CONCLUSIONS: We found adults with disabilities had experienced more unmet dental needs. Further assistance including providing dental insurance coverage and mobile dental clinics is needed to help this disadvantaged population in access to dental care.