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<h4>Objective</h4>The study aimed to determine the key factors that predict oral health care utilization among persons with and without depression.<h4>Methods</h4>Data from 17,525 working-age adults from the 2022 National Health Interview Survey were analyzed. Survey-weighted Poisson regression models estimated the population-level associations between sociodemographic factors (e.g., income, education, last medical visit) and a report of no past-year dental visit and Delayed Dental Care due to cost (DDC), while Random Forest (RF) permutation importance quantified each variable's contribution to predictive discrimination for individuals with or without depression.<h4>Results</h4>The adjusted prevalence (aPR) of no past-year dental visit and DDC was greater among those with depression compared to those without depression (39.6% vs. 35.3% aPR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.06 to 1.18) and (26.6% vs. 17.8%, aPR = 1.47, 95% CI, 1.35, 1.59), respectively. Our RF models demonstrated an acceptable range of discrimination for both outcomes (AUC range: 0.67-0.73) across the subgroups by depression status. Income was the most important variable contributing most to all four models' discrimination, regardless of depression status, suggesting a cross-cutting impact on oral health service utilization regardless of depression status.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Individuals with depression were less likely to visit the dentist and more likely to report cost-related delayed dental care than those without depression. Further, income was an important factor impacting oral health care-seeking behavior.

Abstract: PubMed · Datensatz