Table 1.
Descriptive Statistics of Study Variables by Race
| Percent of AA or NHW Person-intervals in Which the Characteristic Was Reported | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characteristic (Number of Person-intervals) | AA | NHW |
| Predisposing Variables | ||
| Approach to dental care | ||
| Consistent regular attender (1,405) | 19 | 54* |
| Inconsistent regular attender (335) | 9 | 11 |
| Inconsistent problem-oriented attender (313) | 11 | 10 |
| Consistent problem-oriented attender (1,068) | 61 | 25 |
| Frustration with past dental care | ||
| Yes (485) | 12 | 17ns |
| No (2,645) | 88 | 83 |
| Would use homemade remedy | ||
| Yes (360) | 14 | 11ns |
| No (2,714) | 86 | 89 |
| Gender | ||
| Female (1,761) | 59 | 55ns |
| Male (1,378) | 41 | 45 |
| Enabling Variables | ||
| Ability to pay an unexpected $500 dental bill | ||
| Able to pay comfortably (1,481) | 23 | 56* |
| Able to pay, but with difficulty (1,246) | 51 | 36 |
| Not able to pay the bill (402) | 26 | 9 |
| Had dental insurance | ||
| Yes (1,068) | 29 | 36ns |
| No (2,067) | 71 | 64 |
| Need Variables | ||
| Had toothache or abscess | ||
| Yes (530) | 20 | 16* |
| No (2,591) | 80 | 84 |
| Had dental cavities | ||
| Yes (466) | 20 | 13* |
| No (2,601) | 80 | 87 |
| Had loose tooth | ||
| Yes (344) | 21 | 8* |
| No (2,778) | 79 | 92 |
| Had broken tooth | ||
| Yes (452) | 18 | 13* |
| No (2,659) | 82 | 87 |
| Had broken filling | ||
| Yes (252) | 7 | 9ns |
| No (2,861) | 93 | 91 |
| Had oral disadvantage due to disease or tissue damage | ||
| Yes (368) | 20 | 9* |
| No (2,763) | 80 | 91 |
| Satisfaction with dental appearance | ||
| Very satisfied (744) | 18 | 26ns |
| Satisfied (1,714) | 51 | 56 |
| Dissatisfied (541) | 26 | 14 |
| Very dissatisfied (122) | 6 | 3 |
| Perceived need for dental care due to a specific problem | ||
| Yes (858) | 40 | 23* |
| No (2,254) | 60 | 77 |
Note: Interview data were taken from each six-monthly interview. Each time one participant completed a six-monthly interview, one person-interval was completed. For fixed characteristics (predisposing and enabling variables), the sample sizes used for statistical testing were those from baseline.
*
The association between race and the characteristic being tested was statistically significant, p <0.05.
ns
The association was not statistically significant.