Relationship between oral health literacy and oral health status

Abstract

BackgroundHealth literacy has been found to be a strong predictor of an individuals’ health, health behavior and health outcomes. Lower literacy has been linked to problems with the use of preventive services, delayed diagnoses of medical conditions, poor adherence to medical instructions, poor self-management skills, increased mortality risks, poor health outcomes, and higher health care costs. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between oral health literacy (OHL) and oral health status among patients attending a University-affiliated dental clinic.MethodsA convenience sample of participants was drawn from the dental patients presenting at School of Dental Medicine (SODM), Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Information about the subjects’ demographic details, income, family size, insurance type and smoking history were collected using a data collection form. Data about the patients’ periodontal and caries risk assessment, caries experience and periodontal status was extracted from the patients’ electronic dental records. The Comprehensive Measure of Oral Health Knowledge (CMOHK) was used to record the oral health literacy. The median CMOHK score was 18, and this was used to categorize the sample into limited OHL (≤18) and adequate OHL (> 18) groups. A multivariate logistic regression model was built to examine the associations between the various independent variables and OHL levels.ResultsData of 150 respondents were analyzed. More than half of the participants were female (55.3%) and the majority were Caucasian (60%). The average age of participants was 53.3 years [standard deviation (SD) 16.8]. Higher percentage of African Americans and individuals with low education had limited OHL levels (p < 0.05). The mean decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) score for this population was 7.33 ± 2.68. Subjects with limited OHL had significantly higher mean values for missing teeth (p < 0.05) and lower mean values for filled teeth (p < 0.05) as compared with subjects with adequate OHL Significantly, higher percentage of subjects with limited OHL had severe periodontitis as compared with those with adequate OHL (p = 0.04). Multivariate analysis found that the periodontal status was significantly associated with the OHL scores (p = 0.015).ConclusionSubjects with limited OHL levels had poorer periodontal health. Improving the OHL of patients may help in the efforts to improve the adherence to medical instructions, self-management skills and the overall treatment outcomes. Future research could focus on assessing the impact of OHL interventions on the oral health, which could be valuable for clinical practitioners.

Psychometric properties of the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief‐IPQ) in periodontal diseases

“…All in all, the cognitive domain displays a lack of knowledge of patients and unrealistic perceptions about these conditions and their causes. A possible explanation relies on the low oral health literacy previously described (Baskaradoss, 2018) or the low levels of education within this population, though this matter should be addressed in future.…”

“…Health literacy is a strong predictor of individuals' health, health behaviours and health outcomes. Lack of patient oral health literacy can be a hidden barrier to health care, being associated with lack of preventive behaviours, delayed diagnoses, more invasive treatments, poor adherence to treatment and medical instructions, and consequently poor health outcomes (Baskaradoss, ; Berkman, Davis, & McCormack, ; Berkman, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpern, & Crotty, ; Holtzman, Atchison, Macek, & Markovic, ). Especially in patients with chronic illnesses such as periodontitis, despite the periodontal treatment crucialness, it is essential to find ways to reduce the effects of low health literacy, in order to enhance a proactive and effective involvement of daily self‐care.…”

“…Patients who have an unrealistic or negative perception about PDs may benefit from a brief intervention such as counselling. A multidimensional approach, combining clinical diagnosis with psychosocial and systemic dimensions, is essential to improve global understanding of PDs (Baskaradoss, ; Papapanou & Susin, ; Slots, ).…”

“…Health literacy is a strong predictor of individuals' health, health behaviours and health outcomes. Lack of patient oral health literacy can be a hidden barrier to health care, being associated with lack of preventive behaviours, delayed diagnoses, more invasive treatments, poor adherence to treatment and medical instructions, and consequently poor health outcomes (Baskaradoss, 2018;Berkman, Davis, & McCormack, 2010;Berkman, Sheridan, Donahue, Halpern, & Crotty, 2011;Holtzman, Atchison, Macek, & Markovic, 2016).…”

Validation and evaluation of the Mandarin version of the oral health literacy adult questionnaire in Taiwan

“…Oral health literacy (OHL) is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic oral health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2000); such literacy is an important predictor of oral health status and related hygiene behaviors (Naghibi Sistani, Virtanen, Yazdani, & Murtomaa, 2017). Several studies have highlighted that inadequate OHL is associated with adverse oral health outcomes, higher medical expense, and lower medical adherence (Baskaradoss, 2018;Macek et al, 2016;Mohammadi, Malekmohammadi, Hajizamani, & Mahani, 2018). Older age, lower educational level, lower economic status, unemployment, and wearing of removable dentures are other risk factors for inadequate OHL (Ho, Liu, et al, 2019;Naghibi Sistani, Montazeri, Yazdani, & Murtomaa, 2014;Vyas, Nagarajappa, Dasar, & Mishra, 2016).…”