ArticleBMC oral health2021
Inequality in dental services: a scoping review on the role of access toward achieving universal health coverage in oral health.
Article in BMC oral health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancing equity and value in United States healthcare: an umbrella review.International journal for equity in health · 2026Pooled it
- Socioeconomic status and dental service utilization among children and adolescents: systematic reviews and meta analysis.BMC oral health · 2025Pooled it
- Factors influencing dental care services utilization in India using Andersen health behaviour model: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of war on oral health: a systematic review.Evidence-based dentistry · 2024Pooled it
- Integrating oral health into Universal Health Coverage in Europe: A cross-sectional ecological analysis of services and outcomes.Medicine · 2026Article
- Driving and public transit barriers to dental care in the United States.SSM - population health · 2026Article
- Inequity in Schoolchildren's Access to Oral Health Services in Romania: Implications for Public Oral Health Policies.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Knowledge, attitudes and oral health care practices of children in Tshwane District, South Africa.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Domiciliary dental care coverage in Taiwan: An assessment of provider participation and geographic distribution using the universal health coverage framework.Journal of dental sciences · 2026Article
- Effect of Regional Deprivation and Dental Care Resources on the Unmet Dental Care Needs due to Cost of Older Individuals in South Korea.Gerodontology · 2025Article
- The economic consequences of oral disorders at global, regional, and national levels.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Unpacking the Oral Healthcare Landscape in India: A Qualitative Inquiry into Strengths, Shortfalls, and Future Directions Through the Lens of Public Health Dentists.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Perceptions of portable dentistry in Asia using machine learning models.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Applications of spatial autocorrelation in global dentistry: a scoping review.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Australian dental practitioner attitudes to expanding Medicare to include more dental services.Australian dental journal · 2025Article
- Generators of Inequality and Inequity Affecting Dental Patient Safety: A Grounded Theory Approach.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Control, access and professionalism: a qualitative evaluation of Australian dental practitioners attitudes to expanding medicare to include more dental services.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Air Pollution and Oral Health: An Overall Insight From Genetic Causality.International dental journal · 2025Article
- Navigating Barriers to Dental Care for Patients with Down Syndrome: A Scoping Review of Challenges and Strategies.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Exploring Oral Health Promotion Among Mental Health Providers: An Integrative Review.International journal of mental health nursing · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundImproving access to health services is a way towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC) in oral health. The purpose of this review was to map the determinants of access to dental services within a UHC framework.
methodScoping review methods were adopted for the review. PUBMED, Scopus, ISI Web of Science and ProQuest were searched for academic literature on determinants of access to dental services in OCED countries. Articles published in the last 20 years were included. No restriction was placed on study methods; only articles in English language were included. Qualitative synthesis was conducted, along with a trend analysis and mapping exercise.
resultA total of 4320 articles were identified in the initial search; 57 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis. The results indicate 7 main themes as the determinants of access to dental services: family condition, cultural factors, health demands, affordability of services, availability of services, socio-environmental factors, geographical distance. Defined determinants of access to dental services, family condition, cultural factors and geographical access to dental services can fill the population axis of the UHC cube. Health demands and affordability of services fill the gap of financial protection as another axis of the UHC cube and finally, availability of dental services and socio-environmental factors are aligned with the appropriateness of services, the third axis of the UHC cube.
conclusionAccording to the results, family condition and cultural, health demands, affordability and availability of services, social environment, and geographic factors can affect dental health access and equality. Socio-cultural determinations also need to be considered in applied planning. Addressing these factors to improve access to dental services can pave the way for achieving universal health coverage in oral health and should be considered in different levels of policymaking.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.