Influence of dental insurance coverage on access to preventive periodontal care in middle-aged and elderly populations: analysis of representative Korean Community Health Survey Data (2011-2015)

Objectives This study aimed to explore the influence of dental insurance coverage on access to preventive periodontal care. Data were extracted from the 2011, 2013 and 2015 Korean Community Health Surveys conducted by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Materials and methods This study was designed as a 5-year time series analysis using secondary data. Trends in the utilisation rate of dental scaling services before and after the introduction of insurance coverage for dental scaling were evaluated, and the influence of dental insurance coverage on access to preventive periodontal care was assessed. Results In the 4 years after 2011, the utilisation rate of scaling services increased by 12.3%. The increase in the utilisation rate from 2011 to 2015 was greater for participants >= 65 years old and 45-64 years old compared with those who were 19-34 or 35-44 years old. The odds ratios (ORs) for using scaling in 2011, 2013 and 2015 were 0.9, 1.1 and 1.5, respectively, for participants with healthy gingiva. For elderly participants with gingival bleeding, the utilisation rate of scaling services increased after 2015 with ORs of 0.8, 0.9 and 1.2 for 2011, 2013 and 2015, respectively. Conclusions Insurance coverage for dental scaling positively influenced access to preventive care for periodontal disease in middle-aged and elderly individuals. In the future, the long-term contributions of dental insurance coverage to the prevalence of periodontal disease and oral health disparities should be evaluated.