Abstract
This study investigated oral health service utilization by foreigners living in Japan and compared utilization characteristics with those of Japanese. The subjects were 969 adult patients who had been treated at Minatomachi Dental Clinic (MDC) in Yokohama between September 1997 and March 2001. Data were obtained from patient records (charts) and divided into two groups, Japanese (n=407) and foreigners (n=562) and analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. The following results were obtained. 1. The mean age of Japanese and foreign subjects was 46.9 and 38.5 years, respectively and there was a significant difference in age between the two groups. 2. Seventy per cent of the foreign subjects were from Asian regions, such as the Philippines and Korea. 3. English (34%) was the major language for foreign subjects to communicate in Japan, however two-thirds of them used other languages. 4. The rate of subscribing to Japanese public health insurance holders was almost 100% for Japanese subjects and 10% for foreigners. More than half (54%) of foreign subjects were members of the Minatomachi Foreign Migrant workers Mutual Aid (MF-MASH) group. 5. The average number of dental visits for the course of dental care was 5.9 and 2.8 times for Japanese and foreign subjects respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups (p<0.001). 6. The total average fee for each dental visit was 7,001 yen for Japanese subjects and 5,007 yen for foreign subjects. However direct out-of pocket payment was 1,823 yen for Japanese and 4,355 yen for foreigners. From these results, it was demonstrated that migrant patients had a tendency to receive dental treatment only for emergency care because of the high out-put-pocket cost. It is suggested that health education on the importance of self-care, health checkups and preventive care is necessary for in migrants to Japan. Likewise, the present aid system for foreign patients should be discussed from the perspective of providing greater equity in access to oral health care.
