Reasons preventing regular dental care.

The aim was to determine what reasons restrict people's daily cleaning of their teeth and yearly attendance for a dental check-up, using as a theoretical background the ideas of Eichholz & Rogers on the rejection of innovation. The series consisted of young and middle-aged persons, 207 women and 183 men, who filled in a questionnaire on the above topics. The questions were phrased so as to cover different reasons for rejecting innovations. Factors analysis revealed the following factors: reasons preventing daily brushing, practical reasons, unpleasant experiences of dental care, laziness, and lack of appreciation. The reliability of the questionnaire was found to be good. Sex showed a significant correlation with reasons preventing daily brushing. Those for whom a long time had elapsed since the last visit to a dentist had more barriers relating to daily brushing, unpleasant experiences and laziness. The more educated the participants were, the fewer barriers they had in relation to the factors appreciation, unpleasant experiences, and daily brushing.