Dentist gender-related differences in patients’ oral health behaviour

Abstract

This study aimed at determining whether oral health behavior differs between patients regularly checked by male and female dentists. The analysis was based on a cross-sectional survey of 354 Japanese community residents (median age = 54 years; 145 men and 209 women) conducted in a municipality from January to February 2017. Data on demographic characteristics and factors associated with oral health behavior were obtained through self-administered questionnaires. The association between regular dentist gender and patients’ regular dental care check-up and interdental cleaning performance was examined after adjusting for potential confounders. Among respondents, 88.7% and 11.3% reported having male and female regular dentists, respectively. In a multivariate logistic regression model, patients regularly checked by female dentists had an increased likelihood of visiting their dentist for dental care check-up at least once every year (odds ratio [OR] = 2.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.09-4.55)and using an interdental cleaner (OR = 2.62, 95% CI = 1.03-6.71) compared to those regularly checked by male dentists. Patients regularly checked by female dentists tended to have more preventive oral health behaviors than those regularly checked by male dentists. These findings suggest that dentist gender has important clinical implications for patients’ oral health behavior.