A two‐wave interview study of frequency of dental visits and dental complaints

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Abstract
A panel of 268 persons were interviewed twice at an interval of 2 years concerning their visits to dentists and their dental status. The answers they gave on the two occasions agreed well, except for the year of the last visit if it had taken place long ago. This was true both for the people who had gone to the dentist between the interviews and for those who had not. The panel was also asked whether they had any dental complaints. Sixteen percent of them reported complaints at one or both interviews. Complaints were more common among persons who did not often go to the dentist. The persons with complaints did not always get rid of them by going to a dentist. It is concluded that interview data be used for investigating the dental health and behavior of people who do not often go to the dentist, and that dentists are more successful in maintaining good dental health in people who have no dental complaints than in people who report having complaints.

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