Access to Dental-Care Services in Jazan, Saudi Arabia: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Introduction: The construct of dental access adopted in this study uses the following 4 main dimensions: opportunity for access, realized access or utilization, equity, and outcome. Aims: The principal aims of this study were to identify various indicators used in the literature to measure each dimension of access in Saudi Arabia, to summarize and map the range of existing research with policy implications, to identify gaps in research, and to consider implications for future research. Methods: This scoping review was conducted using the PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, as well as manually. Additional relevant publications were identified by manually searching the reference list of the included studies. Data were extracted based on the 4 dimensions of the access framework. Results: The search strategy yielded 230 studies, of which 16 were included after full-text revision. Of the 4 domains, the most explored and in all included studies were realized access, but no differentiation was made by the authors between initial utilization and continued engagement. Conclusions: An overview of different policy suggestions has been provided. In particular, we recommend making better use of teledentistry, improving referral services between dentists and physicians, and offering more education on dental prevention in schools health-service sites.