Barriers to oral health care utilization in Ibadan, South West Nigeria
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Barriers to oral health utilization are many, but those that are significant for our environment are not yet clear. The current study was designed to identify and graduate the barriers to receipt of oral health care among a cross-section of patients attending our centre. We also investigated the influence of socio demographic factors on the highly rated barriers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients visiting UCH, Ibadan using a self-administered questionnaire. Socio-demographic variables and oral health care seeking behaviour were requested and in addition, the respondents were asked to rank 11 listed barriers to receipt of oral health care and any other barriers they may think of in order of strength. Factor analysis was employed in order to identify four factors with the highest loading. The mean scores were compared using t-test and one-way ANOVA and the level of significance was set at 0.05. RESULTS: Only 400 questionnaires were properly filled (84.9%) out of the 471 that were administered. The mean age of these participants was 37.85±15.38 years. Most of the respondents (55.8%) consulted the dentists only when there was pain while 109(27.3%) had never visited the dentist. Fear of dental injection, cost of treatment, feeling of insecurity when the dentist is operating and disturbing noise from dental drill were the major barriers. There was a statistically significant association between age groups and feeling of insecurity (p=006). CONCLUSION: The major barriers to oral health care utilization among our patients were fear related.
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Annual visits by adults to oral health clinics are reduced (20%-30%).
“Consequently, only a few Africans receive treatment for oral health problems, and with reduced annual visits by adults (20%–30%), oral health clinics are affected.”
From Oral health in Africa: a neglected public health priority (2026) · cites this paper as [30]
The Discussion (page not provided) describes very low use of oral health services in sub-Saharan Africa. But it gives no 20%–30% figure for adults’ annual visits. The Results (page not provided) report that 7.3% of this study’s respondents previously consulted a dentist once a year; they do not establish an annual visit rate for African adults. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredOnly a few Africans receive treatment for oral health problems.
“Consequently, only a few Africans receive treatment for oral health problems, and with reduced annual visits by adults (20%–30%), oral health clinics are affected.”
From Oral health in Africa: a neglected public health priority (2026) · cites this paper as [30]
The Discussion reports barriers to dental care in Ibadan and notes lower utilization and unmet dental needs among rural residents (page not provided). It does not establish that only a few Africans receive treatment for oral health problems; that claim extends beyond the population and findings discussed. (LLM, conf=0.78)
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References 20 · Cited by 99
- Authors
- Ajayi, D., & Arigbede, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Ibadan (NG)
- University of Port Harcourt (NG)
- Venue
- African Health Sciences
- Publisher
- African Journals Online (AJOL)
- Published
- 2013-02-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 507-13
- ISSN
- 1680-6905 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3598293
- OpenAlex
- W2039690763
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 9.30
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- African Health Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- TSpace (University of Toronto) (submittedVersion)
- Bioline International (Bioline International) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Periodontics › Dental Health and Care Utilization
- Health Sciences › Dentistry › Oral Surgery › Dental Anxiety and Anesthesia Techniques
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Keywords
- barriers to dental care, oral health care utilization, dental care costs, sociodemographic factors, Ibadan
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Analysis of Variance, Anxiety, Attitude of Health Personnel, Cross-Sectional Studies, Dental Care, Dental Health Services, Dentists, Fear, Female, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Middle Aged, Nigeria, Oral Health, Oral Hygiene, Surveys and Questionnaires, Socioeconomic Factors, Young Adult
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