Dental knowledge, attitudes towards oral health care and utilization of dental services among male industrial workers with or without an employer-provided dental benefit scheme.
In industrialized countries various dental benefit schemes have been implemented to improve the utilization of dental services, though few studies have demonstrated that effect. Prior to a comprehensive clinical study in southern Finland, a postal questionnaire survey of male industrial workers (age 38-65 yrs) was conducted to investigate knowledge and attitudes concerning oral health care and whether access to an employer-provided dental benefit scheme was associated with the utilization of dental services. The response rate was 81% (n = 325) in the subsidized group and 69% (n = 174) in the control group. In both groups, 60% of the subjects had had their last dental visit within a year but 91% of the subsidized workers compared to 79% of the controls had visited a dentist in the past two years (P