The Impact of Access to Oral Health Care on Inadequate Oral Health and Multimorbidity
Abstract
The connection between oral health and other non-communicable chronic conditions—commonly referred in the dental literature as the oral-systemic health connection—emphasizes the role of oral health care on both oral diseases and chronic conditions, particularly in vulnerable populations like the elderly. This thesis comprises 2 studies: the first is a systematic review on the impact of oral health care interventions, as an indicator of access to oral health care, on chronic conditions of which their co-existence would result in multimorbidity; the second study is a cross-sectional investigation of the associations between oral health, access to oral health care, and multimorbidity among middle-aged and older Canadians. This quantitative analysis revealed a significant inverse relationship between the number of dental visits within the last year and both oral health and multimorbidity. Poor oral health was also significantly associated with multimorbidity, with a stronger association observed among females. The availability of dental insurance, frequency of dental visits, and affordability of dental care were shown to modify the association between oral health indicators and multimorbidity. Future research should prioritize the development of interventions and policies to provide access to dental care for Canadians, especially in the aging population.