Evidence mapPaperPMID 40791631Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Exploring adolescents' indirect financial and non-financial barriers to dental care non-attendance: the role of payment methods.

Alla T Alsharif, Saba Kassim

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Alla T AlsharifDepartment of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
Saba KassimDepartment of Preventive Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, Taibah University, Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background and aims: Dental attendance is key to the prevention and early detection of oral diseases. In Saudi Arabia (SA), dental care is publicly funded for citizens; however, many families opt for private care through insurance or out-of-pocket payment. This study has twofold: (1) to examine factors associated with regular dental attendance versus non-dental attendance among adolescents, and (2) to explore the indirect financial and non-financial barriers to dental non-attendance, with a particular emphasis on how payment methods influence these barriers. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional survey was conducted among a convenience sample of adolescents in Al-Madinah, SA. Data collected included socio-demographic characteristics, oral health related variables (e.g., brushing teeth, dental attendance pattern) and barriers to non-dental attendance. Logistic regression identified factors associated with non-attendance for dental care. To analyse non-dental attendance drivers, we organised response into six thematic domains: affordability, availability, accessibility, motivation, perceived need, and fear/anxiety. We then classified affordability-including transportation costs, productivity loss, and childcare expenses-as an indirect financial barrier, whereas the remaining domains (availability, accessibility, motivation, perceived need, and fear/anxiety) were defined as non-financial barriers. These were compared in relation to the participants' payment methods. Results: Among 416 adolescents, (203 males, 48.9%), 315 (75.7%) reported non-dental attendance and 216 (51.9%) used out-of-pocket payment. Regression analysis showed that being male, using publicly funded dental services, and self-rating poor oral health were significantly associated with non-dental attendance (AOR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.39-4.20; Conclusion: A high rate of adolescents dental non-attendance was significantly associated with demographic, economic factors, as well as with perceived oral health. Both indirect financial and non-financial barriers-except fear and anxiety-were frequently reported among adolescents regardless of payment method. This suggests the need for cost-efficient strategies (e.g., transport support), and psychoeducational approaches to improve dental attendance for both adolescents and their families.

Indexed as

Dental CareFinancing, PersonalHealth ExpendituresHealth Services AccessibilityNo-Show PatientsAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleOral HealthSaudi ArabiaSurveys and Questionnairesadolescentsdental careindirect financialnon-financial barriersoral healthpayment methods

Identifiers

PMID40791631
PMCPMC12336191

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.