摘要：This longitudinal study examines perceived unmet dental need in a nationally representative probability sample of HIV-infected persons in medical care. A logistic regression analysis modeled the relationship between unmet need and explanatory variables. We estimate that 40% of HIV/AIDS patients report an unmet need associated with being male, being unemployed, injecting drugs, being heterosexual, lacking dental insurance, and having less education. Disparities in unmet need are related to socioeconomic status rather than to disease stage or ethnicity. Perceived unmet need for oral health care is a useful measure of potential demand in that it represents whether people feel their “wants” for dental services are being fulfilled. In the general adult population, 16.7 million people (11%) reported needing oral health care but not receiving it. African Americans reported higher rates of unmet need for oral health care than other groups. 1 Reports of perceived unmet need for oral health care among persons living with HIV/AIDS range from 5% to 52%. 2– 6 These studies occurred prior to the wide use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). The current study expands on previous work in 2 ways. We use longitudinal, rather than cross-sectional, data from the first national probability sample of patients receiving care for HIV in the United States. 7 Second, this study reports the prevalence of perceived unmet need for oral health care from 1996 through 1998, the period during which HAART was introduced and became the standard of treatment. These medications alter the course of the disease and appear to reduce the frequency and severity of oral opportunistic lesions. 8– 12
