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Provider expectations and consumer perceptions of the importance and value of dental care.

P J Frazier, J Jenny, R A Bagramian, E Robinson and J M Proshek

Seventy-eight inner city mothers of third and fourth grade children in three racial groups--white, black, and American Indian--known to need dental treatment for disease on permanent teeth, were interviewed at home by a trained community resident interviewer. Sixty-two per cent of the mothers were on public assistance. Information relating to the mothers' perceptions of the importance and value of dental care both for herself and for her children were collected. Utilization data were obtained via two dental examinations conducted one year apart. Data were also collected from a sample of provider dentists via mail questionnaire. A yield of 315 usable questionnaires was obtained, a return rate of 53 per cent. Provider-dentists felt that low socioeconomic consumers do not value dental services, as compared to other types of consumer goods and services, and that they do not believe dental care is important. Low income mothers in the same city reported that they did value dental care and believed it important. Expectations of and orientations toward the importance of dental care were found discongruent between the two groups of respondents. These discongruities on the dentist-patient relationship are discussed as a barrier to utilization. Although financial resources were available to many of the study families, only 49 per cent of these children received the needed care. It is suggested that the psychological cost to a patient of seeking care in inhospitable settings may act as a barrier to utilization.

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