OBSTACLES TO REGULAR DENTAL-CARE RELATED TO EXTRINSIC AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

The aim of this study was to test factors preventing dental care as pu t forward by persons who are extrinsically or intrinsically motivated in relation to dental care. The series consisted of 390 randomly selec ted young and middle-aged patients, 207 women and 183 men, visiting tw o occupational health centers in Oulu, Finland. Logistic regression an alysis showed that the probability of being extrinsically motivated wa s greater among those who mentioned the purposelessness of brushing th eir teeth, lack of time, lack of interest. expense, laziness and failu re to appreciate the seriousness of dental care as factors hindering r egular dental care very much or somewhat. Thus extrinsically motivated persons seemed to propose superficial reasons and reasons related to non-appreciation of dental care more often than intrinsically motivate d persons.