Adolescent with caries and experienced interaction with dental staff.

Background: There is a lack of studies about how adolescents experience the interaction during dental visits. The experienced interaction during dental visits will influence how adolescents take care of their oro-dental health, and how they attend at the dentist's office.

Aim: To explore the interaction experiences during dental visits of 18-year-olds with or without a history of caries.

Design: The dental health status at age 15 years was used as a predictor of subsequent interaction experiences with the dental staff. The dental health status was assessed by the Decayed Missed Filled Teeth index and interaction experiences by the Patient Dental Staff Interaction Questionnaire.

Results: Adolescents with a history of caries experienced the interaction at dental visits significantly more often negatively than adolescents with healthy teeth. The association was significant after adjustment for potential confounding factors (sense of coherence, gender, and duration of maternal basic education).

Conclusions: Understanding, encouraging, and appropriate interaction with adolescents with caries may make patients more positive and receptive for treatment and self-care.