Determinants of dental service utilization among adults – the case of Finland

We examine the determinants of utilization of dentists' services and especially the role of supply factors in the decision-making processes of utilization, using data from the Finnish Health Care Survey of 1996. In a two-part model, care-seeking is modeled by a bivariate probit model taking into account dentist's recall, whereas the number of positive visits to the dentist is modeled by a zero-truncated negative binomial model. Recall turns out to be a central determinant of care-seeking and is significantly related to variables like income and unemployment. Socioeconomic variables are controlled for as well and are found to be important determinants.