Background

The aim of this study is to assess dental no-shows or missed scheduled dental appointments among children and adolescents in public oral health services in Helsinki, Finland, where under 18-year-olds receive subsidized oral health care.

Methods

This retrospective register-based study focused under 18-year-olds in Helsinki who had dental no-shows, which was defined as any failure to arrive for a scheduled appointment without notifying, in the public oral health services from 2006 to 2020. The study utilized retrospectively collected data from the City of Helsinki’s electronic patient health information register systems, Effica (2006–2017) and Lifecare (2018–2020), which were in use during the respective periods. In the context of this study, children refer age group 0–9 years and adolescents 10–17 years.

Results

A total of 2,513,376 appointments were found from patient register; 92.6% (n = 2,326,878) were actualized visits and 7.4% (n = 186,498) no-shows. Dental no-shows among children and adolescents showed decreasing trend from 9.9% to 5.8% between 2006 and 2020 except of slight increase in year 2019. Of all dental no-shows, 5.2% were registered among children and 8.6% among adolescents. Boys had more frequently no-shows than girls (p < 0.01). Of the study population, 5% had 21.8% of all no-shows.

Conclusions

The 15-year trend analysis showed a reduction in yearly dental no-show prevalence among children and adolescents, in general. However, there is a positive correlation between age and the frequency of no-shows. There was a strong polarization of the no-show phenomenon, only 5% of the children and adolescents accounting more than one fifth of all missed appointments. This polarized group needs to be characterized, so that potential underlying causes can be studied.