Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Predictors Of Dental Care Use: Findings From The National Longitudinal Study Of Adolescent Health, Christopher Okunseri, Elaye Okunseri, Raul I. Garcia, Alexis D. Visotcky, Aniko Szabo

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

To examine longitudinal trends and associated factors in dental service utilization by adolescents progressing to early adulthood in the United States.

Methods

The data source was the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health from Waves I (1994–1995), II (1996), III (2001–2002), and IV (2007–2008). This was a retrospective, observational study of adolescents' transition to early adulthood. We obtained descriptive statistics and performed logistic regression analyses to identify the effects of baseline and concurrent covariates on dental service utilization from adolescence to early adulthood over time.

Results

Dental service utilization within the prior 12 months peaked at age 16 (72%), …

Racial And Ethnic Variations In Waiting Times For Emergency Department Visits Related To Nontraumatic Dental Conditions In The United States, Christopher Okunseri, Elaye Okunseri, Cesar A. Chilmaza, Shazeen Harunani, Qun Xiang, Aniko Szabo

School of Dentistry Faculty Research and Publications

Background

Researchers have documented an association between waiting times in emergency departments (EDs) and quality of care for medical conditions, but little is known about trends and factors associated with waiting times for ED visits related to nontraumatic dental conditions (NTDCs). The authors examined trends in waiting time and associated factors for NTDC-related ED visits in the United States.

Methods

The authors analyzed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care survey for 1997 to 2007, excluding 2001 and 2002 owing to lack of information about waiting times. The authors used a survey-weighted linear regression of log-transformed waiting-time model to …