Irregular users of dental services among Norwegian adults

In 1979-80 a nationwide random sample of 1511 Norwegians, aged 16-79 years, were asked a series of questions about dental health and related factors (behavior, attitude, knowledge, social network, interpersonal communication, and 'health locus of control'). The purposes of the study were to describe the irregular users of dental services and to find mutable factors that could distinguish the regular from the irregular users. 17.4% of the dentate women and 21.7% of the men reported visiting the dentist less than once a year. Among the background variables, age and income/education were the most powerful predictors of use of dental services. Different patterns of behavioral characteristics were found among women as compared with men. The mutable factors that made a significant distinction between the regular and irregular users were use of interdental remedies, use of fluoride, social network, and health attitude (only among women). To a great extent, sociopsychologic and behavioral factors seemed to act through the demographic and economic variables in predicting the regularity of dental attendance.