Prediction of Oral Healthcare Services Utilization in Saudi Arabia

Background The Saudi Ministry of Health is the major oral healthcare provider in Saudi Arabia. The ministry releases annual reports on oral healthcare delivery and usage indicators in the public sector for the 13 administration provinces. However, the Saudi Ministry of Health and population census data are not synchronized to estimate the utilization of regional oral healthcare. This study aims to find the predictors of oral healthcare services utilization in Saudi Arabia. Methods Oral health data for the 13 Saudi provinces were collected. Healthcare parameters and population data were obtained from the Saudi Ministry of Health and the Saudi Central Department of Statistics and Information, respectively. To study oral healthcare utilization, number of dental visits, number of dentists, dental treatment needs, caries prevalence, and province population were used as indicators. Oral healthcare utilization was predicted by a multiple linear regression using the number of dental visits, number of dentists, treatment needs, caries prevalence, and province population. Results The regional predication of oral health utilization was influenced mainly by population at the province level and number of dentists in the province. Although caries prevalence and treatment needs have a great impact on the prediction of oral healthcare utilization, their association with utilization was not statistically significant. Conclusion The main predictors of oral healthcare utilization at the province level in Saudi Arabia are province population and number of dentists. Caries prevalence and treatment needs are valuable modifiers for the prediction. For future research, the availability of sub-province data is needed to enhance the ability to predict oral healthcare utilization.