ATTITUDES OF CHINESE PEOPLE TOWARD OBTAINING DENTAL-CARE IN THE UK

Objective To explore the attitudes of Chinese people regarding dentist s and toward obtaining dental care in the UK. Introduction Injudicious use of general health services has been reported among Chinese people in the UK. In relation to oral healthcare, the extent to which cultur al beliefs and values affect use remains uncertain. Setting Chinese co mmunities in the north east of England. Subjects and methods A quota s ample of 156 Chinese people was recruited in 1996. 50 elderly people, 56 adults, 50 teenagers were interviewed ed by 5 trained and standardi sed multilingual Chinese interviewers using a validated structured que stionnaire. Results Access varied substantially according to age, with the younger generations more likely to obtain dental care without dif ficulty. Overall, the sample perceived that dentists possessed adequat e technical competence, but their patient management skills lacked sen sitivity. Older Chinese people placed less trust in dentists. Many eld erly people reported problems in finding a UK dentist and would have p referred one of Chinese origin. Potential problems in follow-up prosth etic dental care were also apparent among this age group. Cost, commun ication problems, anxiety and cultural beliefs were identified as majo r barriers to dental care. Conclusions There is a clear need to raise cultural awareness among dental professionals as well as to help Chine se people's positive attitudes toward dentists and dental care.