Table 1.
Distribution of individual and community characteristics of the study population by the status of dental service utilisation.
| Variables | Total Samples | Non-Users | Irregular Users | Regular Users | p-Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | N (%) | ||
| - | N = 16,860 | - | - | - | - |
| Dental service utilisation | |||||
| Non-users | 14,573 (86.4) | - | - | - | - |
| Irregular users | 2093 (12.4) | - | - | - | - |
| Regular users | 194 (1.2) | - | - | - | - |
| Individual-level variables | |||||
| Age | |||||
| 14–21 | 2366 (14.0) | 1979 (83.6) | 354 (15.0) | 33 (1.4) | <0.001 |
| 22–34 | 5129 (30.4) | 4460 (87.0) | 601 (11.7) | 68 (1.3) | |
| 35–44 | 3635 (21.6) | 3189 (87.7) | 408 (11.2) | 38 (1.1) | |
| 45–64 | 4735 (28.1) | 4065 (85.9) | 622 (13.1) | 48 (1.0) | |
| ≥65 | 995 (5.9) | 880 (88.4) | 108 (10.9) | 7 (0.7) | |
| Sex | |||||
| Male | 8267 (49.0) | 7245 (87.6) | 940 (11.4) | 82 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Female | 8593 (51.0) | 7328 (85.3) | 1153 (13.4) | 112 (1.3) | |
| Current marital status | |||||
| Married | 12,287 (72.9) | 10,768 (87.6) | 1393 (11.4) | 126 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Not married | 4573 (27.1) | 3805 (83.2) | 700 (15.3) | 68 (1.5) | |
| Educational attainment | |||||
| Elementary school or below | 6251 (37.1) | 5781 (92.5) | 444 (7.1) | 26 (0.4) | <0.001 |
| Junior high school | 3497 (20.7) | 3122 (89.3) | 356 (10.2) | 19 (0.5) | |
| Senior high school | 5314 (31.5) | 4440 (83.5) | 796 (15.0) | 78 (1.5) | |
| Higher education | 1798 (10.7) | 1230 (68.4) | 497 (27.6) | 71 (4.0) | |
| Economic status | |||||
| Quintile 1 (poorest) | 3401 (20.2) | 3174 (93.3) | 213 (6.3) | 14 (0.4) | <0.001 |
| Quintile 2 | 3423 (20.3) | 3092 (90.3) | 304 (8.9) | 27 (0.8) | |
| Quintile 3 | 3453 (20.5) | 3021 (87.5) | 396 (11.5) | 36 (1.0) | |
| Quintile 4 | 3383 (20.0) | 2802 (82.8) | 539 (15.9) | 42 (1.3) | |
| Quintile 5 (richest) | 3200 (19.0) | 2484 (77.6) | 641 (20.0) | 75 (2.4) | |
| Health insurance | |||||
| Yes | 8352 (49.5) | 6961 (83.4) | 1253 (15.0) | 138 (1.6) | <0.001 |
| No | 8508 (50.5) | 7612 (89.5) | 840 (9.9) | 56 (0.6) | |
| Dental pain | |||||
| Yes | 2514 (14.9) | 1847 (73.5) | 619 (24.6) | 48 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| No | 14,346 (85.1) | 12,726 (88.7) | 1474 (10.3) | 146 (1.0) | |
| Self-reported mouth ulcers | |||||
| Yes | 3036 (18.0) | 2478 (81.6) | 503 (16.6) | 55 (1.8) | <0.001 |
| No | 13,824 (82.0) | 12,095 (87.5) | 1590 (11.5) | 139 (1.0) | |
| Self-rated health status | |||||
| Healthy | 13,214 (78.4) | 11,421 (86.4) | 1634 (12.4) | 159 (1.2) | 0.453 |
| Unhealthy | 3646 (21.6) | 3152 (86.4) | 459 (12.6) | 35 (1.0) | |
| Unmet healthcare needs | |||||
| Yes | 3593 (21.3) | 3256 (90.6) | 321 (8.9) | 16 (0.5) | <0.001 |
| No | 13,267 (78.7) | 11,317 (85.3) | 1772 (13.4) | 178 (1.3) | |
| Smoking status | |||||
| Never | 10,380 (61.6) | 8828 (85.0) | 1418 (13.7) | 134 (1.3) | <0.001 |
| Former | 859 (5.1) | 726 (84.5) | 119 (13.9) | 14 (1.6) | |
| Current | 5621 (33.3) | 5019 (89.3) | 556 (9.9) | 46 (0.8) | |
| Community-level variables | |||||
| Residential area | |||||
| Urban | 9255 (54.9) | 7625 (82.4) | 1475 (15.9) | 155 (1.7) | <0.001 |
| Rural | 7605 (45.1) | 6948 (91.4) | 618 (8.1) | 39 (0.5) | |
| Cognitive social capital | |||||
| Low | 8489 (50.3) | 7276 (85.7) | 1106 (13.0) | 107 (1.3) | 0.018 |
| High | 8371 (49.7) | 7297 (87.2) | 987 (11.8) | 87 (1.0) | |
| Structural social capital | |||||
| Low | 6488 (38.5) | 5839 (90.0) | 586 (9.0) | 63 (1.0) | <0.001 |
| Medium | 5972 (35.4) | 5163 (86.5) | 749 (12.5) | 60 (1.0) | |
| High | 4400 (26.1) | 3571 (81.2) | 758 (17.2) | 71 (1.6) | |
Note: Differences in the distribution of variables across the status of dental service utilisation were statistically analysed by chi-square tests. Bold values represent significant differences (two-sided p-value < 0.05).