Table 4 Main reasons for people not seeking dental services in the previous 12 months and socioeconomic characteristics of education and income. São Paulo, 2003 and 2008

Financial difficulty

42.6 (190)

25.0 (64)

<0.001

33.3 (165)

29.3 (104)

0.005

‘I have no teeth’

17.0 (216)

10.9 (71)

<0.001

19.4 (216)

9.4 (76)

<0.001

‘I did not think necessary’

24.8 (193)

45.7 (130)

<0.001

33.5 (210)

40.8 (154)

0.066

‘I did not have time’

7.4 (26)

6.6 (16)

0.125

6.5 (26)

13.0 (38)

0.450

‘The dental care service was full’

2.6 (11)

1.0 (2)

0.231

1.8 (8)

2.2 (9)

0.689

‘The dental care service is too far from my home’

0.05 (2)

0

n. a^b

0.6 (4)

0.1 (1)

n. a^b

‘I did not know the service was available’

0.03 (1)

0

n. a^b

0.3 (2)

0.2 (1)

n. a^b

<2.5 mw % (n)

≥2.5 mw % (n)

Difference between income groups for each reason:

p-value

<2.5 mw % (n)

≥2.5 mw % (n)

Difference between income groups for each reason:

p-value

Financial difficulty

44.3 (142)

23.2 (68)

<0.001

38.0 (168)

20.0 (53)

<0.001

‘I have no teeth’

15.8 (144)

10.1 (84)

<0.001

15.0 (157)

10.9 (78)

0.0005

‘I did not think necessary’

25.6 (134)

46.3 (158)

<0.001

31.9 (185)

47.4 (134)

0.0007

‘I did not have time’

5.3 (15)

9.1 (22)

0.552

8.5 (31)

14.5 (30)

0.713

‘The dental care service was full’

2.6 (9)

0.8 (2)

0.150

2.0 (9)

2.3 (6)

0.751

‘The dental care service is too far from my home’

0.2 (1)

0

n. a^b

0.4 (4)

0

n. a^b

‘I did not know the service was available’

0.03 (1)

0

n. a^b

0.5 (3)

0

n. a^b