Costs, Transportation Concerns, Keep Seniors From the Dentist
March 15, 2005

By Nancy Volkers
InteliHealth News Service

INTELIHEALTH - Half of senior citizens face barriers getting to the dentist, with cost concerns topping the list, say researchers.

A study of 415 seniors in Western New York found that 208 faced at least one challenge to receiving dental care, and most faced more than one. Of those, 92% named costs, 25% named transportation or weather difficulties, and 16% said anxiety or depression kept them from dental visits. Nearly half of the 208 seniors did not have a regular dentist.

When the researchers — from the University of Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine — further divided the group by age, they found that younger seniors (those aged 60 to 74) most often said that anxiety or depression kept them from dental visits. Among older seniors (those aged 85 and older), 85% said that transportation problems were a barrier. Among middle seniors, anxiety/depression, transportation problems, and finances weighed about equally.

The seniors were interviewed at senior citizen centers and nutrition centers across eight counties of Western New York. They were mostly white (88%) and female (71%), and 66% lived in rural areas.

Nearly all of the seniors in the study — 402, or 97% — had no dental insurance. However, only 191 seniors said costs were a barrier to dental care.

The research, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was reported March 12 at the annual meeting of the International and American Association on Dental Research in Baltimore.