Introduction: The issue of inequalities in the use of health services and health inequalities between urban and rural dwellers is a subject of numerous scientific reports, but similar publications on dental health are scarce. Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the correlations...

Objectives To assess the impact of classical socioeconomic factors on the use and non-use of dental services on a representative sample of Polish population. Methods The study was based on face-to-face surveys conducted by GUS (Statistics Poland) on 13,376 respondents in 2010 and 12,532 individuals in 2013. Results The percentage of people using dental services in the highest income group was approximately twice as high as that in the lowest one (Q1: 7.0% vs. Q5: 16.4%), with the same being true for education (the lowest education group: 8.3% vs. the highest education group: 18.0%), and place of residence (inhabitants of rural areas: 9.2% vs. inhabitants of largest cities: 15.9%) in 2013. The analysis has shown the disparities in not using dental services when in need to be less clear-cut. Conclusions The conducted research, based on two independent periods, a representative population sample, univariate analysis and the multivariate regression model has revealed pronounced social inequalities in dental care use. It is a challenge to determine the factors which contribute most to health inequalities and the interventions which are most effective in reducing them.

Introduction and Objective: The aim of this study is presen-tation of the effect of socio-economic factors, such as income and its source, education, and place of residence, on the use of dental services, based on the results of the authors’ own study and a review of Polish and international...