• Paul Ikhodaro Idon, Olawale Akeem Sotunde, Temiloluwa Olawale Ogundare, Janada Yusuf, John Oluwatosin Makanjuola, Abdulmumini Mohammed, Chibuzor Emmanuel Igweagu, and Olusegun Alalade.
• Department of Dental Surgery, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
• Afr Health Sci. 2021 Mar 1; 21 (1): 470-477.

BackgroundThe final pathway of tooth mortality lies between tooth extraction, and the more expensive and less accessible root canal treatment (RCT).AimTo determine the extent to which individuals' financial resources as measured by socioeconomic status and dental insurance coverage affects their access to RCT.MethodsA hospital-based study that used a 15-item questionnaire to collect data among patients scheduled for RCT. All scheduled subjects (N = 291) over a one-year period constituted the sample for the study. Using the SPSS software, associations between the subjects' variables, and the dental insurance status were carried out with Chi square and independent t test respectively at 95% confidence interval.ResultsTwo hundred and ninety-one subjects were to have 353 RCTs within the study period. A high proportion (79.7%, p < 0.001) of the subjects had dental health insurance, majority (95.3%) of which was government funded. 20.9% of those with previous tooth loss was due to inability to afford cost of RCT. The lowest socioeconomic group had the highest proportion (90%, p = 0.421) of insured that visited for RCT.ConclusionDental insurance increased access to RCT. Socioeconomic status did not affect dental insurance status and dental visit for RCT.© 2021 Idon PI et al.

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