Cross-sectional data from the 2009 New Zealand Oral Health Survey were examined in this investigation, which sought to determine the impact of parental use of dental services, ethnicity and socioeconomic background on adolescents’ recent use of dental services. The study sample consisted of 509 participants aged 12–17 years. Four in five adolescents reported having visited a dental provider within the last year (79.9%); almost half had last visited a private general dental practice (46.6%). No significant associations were found for either outcome with the primary caregiver exposure factor: most recent dental visit outcome fully adjusted odds ratio [OR] (primary caregiver not visited) 0.93 (95% CI, 0.32 to 2.72); visited provider other than private general dental practice outcome fully adjusted OR (primary caregiver not visited) 1.60 (95% CI, 0.39 to 6.57). Compared to European/Other adolescents, Māori and Pacific adolescents were significantly more likely to have not visited in the last year (Māori 12–14 years fully adjusted OR 4.20; 95% CI, 1.54 to 11.50; Pacific 12–17 years fully adjusted OR 2.61; 95% CI, 0.84 to 8.07 – the latter was not significant after adjusting for socioeconomic deprivation), and significantly less likely to have last visited a private general dental practice (Māori 12–17 years fully adjusted OR 2.16; 95% CI, 1.13 to 4.12; Pacific 12–17 years fully adjusted OR 5.15; 95% CI, 1.69 to 15.74).
