Factors influencing the utilization of dental services in East Java, Indonesia

Background Despite high levels dental issues and insurance coverage in the East Java province Indonesia, the utilization of dental services is still low. This research aims to test whether certain individual-level sociodemographic, behavioural, and clinical characteristics influenced the current level of dental services utilization by East Java residents. Methods A secondary analysis was undertaken using data on the East Java province from the Indonesian Basic Health Research 2013, which included 90,551 randomly selected respondents aged 5-100 years old. Socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, education and residential location), dental behavior (tooth brushing habit), and clinical (dental) condition were self-reported through a questionnaire. Multivariable models were generated to estimate prevalence ratios (PR), and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Prevalence of dental service utilization during the last 12 months in East Java province is only 9 %. Respondents 25-<50 years old showed the highest utilization of dental services. Being male, having lower education and living in a district (as opposed to municipalities) were indicators for having lower utilization of dental treatment (PR [95% CI] = 0.81 [0.79-0.84], PR [95% CI] = 0.89 [0.86-0.93] and PR [95% CI] = 0.91 [0.88-0.95], respectively). Respondents with poor tooth brushing habit showed lower utilization of dental services. Having teeth was associated with higher utilization of dental treatment (PR [95% CI] = 1.39 [1.16-1.66). Conclusions Age, sex, education and residential location influence the utilization of dental services among Indonesia's East Java residents. Poor tooth brushing habits and being edentulous are also indicators of lesser utilization. These results call for urgent public health interventions to increase equitable dental care services utilization.