Perceived barriers to preventive dental care among Libyan dentists

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of the study sample (n=166)

Variables	N	%
Sex
Men	50	30
Women	116	70
Age group (years)
23–34	141	85
35–44	15	9
45–56	10	6
Practice sector
Public	71	43
Private	37	22
Mixed	58	35
Years of service
0–5	77	46
6–10	69	42
>10	20	12

Table 2 Barriers to providing preventive dental care (n=166)

Items	Mean (SD)	Range
Patient-related barriers
Patients have poor knowledge of the potential of caries prevention	3.22 (0.92)	0–4
Patients are unwilling to pay for preventive care	3.05 (0.91)	0–4
Patients ignore regular dental visits	3.11 (0.98)	0–4
Patients’ poor oral health is an obstacle to preventive care	2.92 (1.01)	0–4
Sub-score	12.47 (3.10)	1–16
Dentist-related barriers
Preventive care gives dentists no/minor esteem	2.42 (1.33)	0–4
Preventive care is not profitable for dentists	2.16 (1.32)	0–4
Preventive dentistry has low priority in the dental curriculum	2.69 (1.28)	0–4
There are no dental auxiliaries available to provide preventive care	2.81 (1.31)	0–4
Sub-score	10.08 (3.66)	2–16
Practice-related barriers
Dental insurance covers no preventive measures	2.42 (1.37)	0–4
Materials needed for preventive dentistry are not easily available	2.83 (1.20)	0–4
Printed material for dental health education is scarce	2.83 (1.06)	0–4
Traditionally, dentistry relies on treatment, not on prevention	2.89 (1.27)	0–4
Sub-score	10.96 (2.90)	0–16

Table 3 Barriers to preventive dental care by demographic and professional characteristics (n=166)

	Patient-related barriers		Dentist-related barriers		Practice-related barriers
Variables	Mean	(SD)	Mean	(SD)	Mean	(SD)
Sex
Men	11.96	(3.68)	10.26	(3.96)	10.48	(3.22)
Women	12.69	(2.82)	10.01	(3.54)	11.17	(2.73)
p	0.166		0.686		0.158
Age group
23–34 years	12.47	(3.18)	10.20	(3.82)	11.10	(2.95)
35–44 years	12.07	(3.03)	10.00	(2.80)	10.27	(2.66)
45–56 years	13.10	(2.23)	8.60	(1.96)	10.10	(2.42)
p	0.720		0.411		0.358
Practice sector
Public	13.01	(2.38)^a	9.58	(3.01)	11.46	(2.36)^a
Private	13.22	(2.42)^b	10.27	(4.15)	11.65	(2.66)^b
Mixed	11.33	(3.91)^a,b	10.59	(4.02)	9.91	(3.35)^a,b
p	0.002		0.281		0.002
Years of service
0–5 years	12.61	(3.29)	10.52	(4.05)	11.25	(2.99)
6–10 years	12.23	(3.01)	9.94	(3.36)	10.94	(2.71)
>10 years	12.75	(2.81)	8.90	(2.81)	9.95	(3.09)
p	0.699		0.194		0.204

Superscripts indicate where differences were located.

Independent sample t-test and ANOVA were used to compare characteristics with two and three groups, respectively.

Table 4 Multivariate regression models for patient-, dentist-, and practice-related barriers to preventive dental care (n=166)

	Patient-related barriers		Dentist-related barriers		Practice-related barriers
Variables	Coef.	(95% CI)	Coef.	(95% CI)	Coef.	(95% CI)
Sex
Men	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)
Women	0.05	(−1.14, 1.24)	0.22	(−1.22, 1.66)	0.07	(−1.02, 1.17)
p	0.938		0.762		0.892
Age group
23–34 years	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)
35–44 years	−0.27	(−2.47, 1.94)	0.63	(−2.04, 3.29)	0.13	(−1.9, 2.16)
45–56 years	0.15	(−3.07, 3.36)	0.05	(−3.83, 3.93)	0.05	(−2.91, 3)
p	0.940		0.866		0.991
Practice sector
Public	0.00	(Reference)^a	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)^a
Private	0.14	(−1.21, 1.48)^b	0.43	(−1.19, 2.05)	−0.11	(−1.35, 1.13)^b
Mixed	−1.69	(−2.95, −0.42)^a,b	0.86	(−0.66, 2.38)	−1.76	(−2.92, −0.60)^a,b
p	0.007		0.538		0.004
Years of service
0–5 years	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)	0.00	(Reference)
6–10 years	−0.40	(−1.46, 0.66)	−0.54	(−1.82, 0.74)	−0.41	(−1.38, 0.56)
>10 years	−0.13	(−2.86, 2.61)	−1.68	(−4.98, 1.62)	−1.74	(−4.26, 0.77)
p	0.743		0.530		0.367

Superscripts indicate where differences were located.

Linear regression models were fitted and regression coefficients reported.