The Impact of Procrastination and Psychosocial Factors on Dental Attendance and Oral Health Status

Aim: The aim of the study is to explore the relationship between procrastination and dental attendance, focusing on delay in seeking dental care, in spite of having a low self-reported oral health status. In addition, the study includes a survey based investigation on the reasons of delay in dental care.

Objective: Dental attendance is important to determine oral health, and regular dental visits positively influence people’s quality of life. Regular dental check-ups are preventive measures to assess oral health status and progression of oral disease. Thus, delay in oral examination and treatment can be assumed to affect oral health negatively.

Dental anxiety has often been referred to be one of the reasons for avoidance or delay in dental care. Studies show the relation between dental anxiety and delay of dental visits, where high levels of anxiety predicts the length of delay.

However, delay in dental care could also be due to various other reasons. Such as, expenses of the treatment, time consuming or not necessary without any acute symptoms.

Procrastination is the failure to initiate or complete a task. It is one of the leading demerits of the present scenario, this article highlights how this can lead to delayed dental care that in turn impairs oral health. It is also associated with health outcomes like stress and treatment delay, thus increasing procrastination decreases health status. Dental patients might delay treatment for conditions that are perceived not be very serious, acute or with no or low intensity symptoms because undergoing clinical examination might be unpleasant in itself.

Therefore, delaying seeking dental care or avoiding treatment is a problem for dental public health. Procrastination can be an important construct regarding oral health, affecting the delay of dental care among patients.

Materials and Methods: The residents of the city of Muradnagar in the Ghaziabad district of Uttar Pradesh who attended the oral health camps held by the ITS-CDSR Muradnagar campus in various nearby communities were the subjects of the study. In April and May of 2023, data were gathered through convenience sampling with a paper-based questionnaire.

Results: Most participants were middle class, with 60.7% attending regular dental visits, though 93.4% reported delays in care. High dental anxiety, stress, and procrastination were significantly linked to poor oral health and delayed visits. Those with better self-reported oral health and regular visits had lower anxiety and procrastination. Delays were strongly influenced by cost, stress, fear, and perceived necessity, with necessity being the strongest factor. Poor oral health and higher dental anxiety were associated with a willingness to attend future visits. Overall, psychometric factors significantly impacted oral health behaviours, highlighting the need for strategies to address psychological barriers to improve dental care access.

Conclusion: This study found a significant relationship between procrastination, psychometric scales and delay of dental care. The delay is majorly due to lack of knowledge amongst the participants as a significant group believed that there is no need for a dental visit without any acute symptoms.