Effects of Satisfaction with the Socio-Physical Environment of the Local Community on Experiences of Annual Dental Scaling

Abstract

This study investigated satisfaction with the socio-physical environment of the local community at a personal level, and analyzed the correlations between socio-physical environmental factors and experience of dental scaling. Using data from the 2017 Community Health Survey (CHS), 228,381 subjects aged 19 years or older were included. We performed chi-square tests to investigate differences in whether subjects experienced scaling depending on sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and oral health-related characteristics as well as the socio-physical environment of the local community. We performed a multiple logistic regression analysis to ascertain the factors affecting the rate of scaling experience. When we compared scaling experience according to socio-physical environmental factors in the local environment, subjects who were satisfied with the public transport environment showed 1.06 times more scaling experience than unsatisfied subjects, and subjects who were satisfied with the medical service environment showed 1.08 times more scaling experience than unsatisfied subjects. Subjects who were satisfied with the natural environment showed less scaling experience, at 0.91-fold, compared to unsatisfied subjects. In order to improve oral health and quality of life, it is first necessary to enhance the socio-physical environment of the local community.