Patients' Perception Towards the Preservation of Natural Teeth For Life

Abstract

The aim of the article is to report on the perception of utilizers of government dental services towards the preservation of natural teeth for life and relate it to their past utilization pattern and the associated demographic factors. All patients aged 15 years and over attending ten randomly selected government dental clinics in Selangor, Wilayah Persekutuan and Negri Sembilan during the study period of thirty nonconsecutive outpatients days were interviewed and examined clinically. Five-hundred and fifty subjects were included in the survey. It was found that the majority of respondents (63%)have a rather pessimistic perception
of their ability to preserve natural teeth for life and most have a very poor past utilization behaviour (90%).The most pessimistic and worst utilization behaviour was reported by the Malay ethnic group, the least formally educated and the lowest income group (p<O.OI).It is postulated that one of the main reason for this trend among Malay respondents could be due to their lower educational and income status, rather than cultural influences. Further research into the influence of culture on the utilization pattern of the Malays is therefore recommended.