Patterns and factors affecting dental utilisation among adolescents in Sri Lanka

Aim: To determine the patterns and factors affecting dental utilisation by adolescents in Sri Lanka. Design: The information was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire. Setting: Ten randomly selected secondary schools. Participants: A total of 492 Year 11 students of which 257 were from urban and 235 were from rural schools. Results: Sixty one per cent of the rural and 54% of the urban students had used dental services. There was a significant difference in the care providers and the types of treatment received at the previous visit between the urban and the rural students. A majority of students in both groups utilised dental services for symptomatic reasons. According to logistic regression analysis, those students who had received advice about oral health were 1.9 times more likely to have used dental services than those who had not received advice. Also, female students were 1.5 times more likely to have used dental services than males. Conclusions: Utilisation of dental services was low in adolescents and was mainly related to symptomatic reasons. Gender, perceived need and whether the adolescents had received information about oral health were significant predictors of utilisation of dental services by adolescents in Sri Lanka.