Association between oral health literacy and dental outcomes among users of primary healthcare services

ABSTRACT

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the association between Oral Health Literacy (OHL) and dental outcomes. A sample of 920 adults above 18 years of age living in areas covered by 10 Family Health Units (FHUs) in a large city in São Paulo state, Brazil, was included. OHL was assessed using the short-form Health Literacy in Dentistry Scale (HeLD-14). Data on sociodemographic factors, oral health, and general health were obtained through a structured questionnaire. The investigated outcomes "tooth loss" and "reason for the last dental appointment" were evaluated using self-reported data. Simple logistic regression models were used to analyze the associations between each independent factor and outcomes. Factors that presented a significance level of ≤0.20 in the bivariate analysis were included in the hierarchical multiple logistic regression models. Participants with an education level up to high school, low OHL, and poor/fair self-rated oral health had 1.35 (95%CI, 1.01-1.80), 1.48 (95%CI, 1.12-1.95), and 1.46 (95%CI, 1.11-1.92) times more probability to report missing teeth, respectively. Adults from families with lower monthly income, low OHL, and poor/fair self-rated oral health had 1.70 (95%CI, 1.29-2.26), 1.89 (95%CI, 1.42-2.51), and 1.73 (95%CI, 1.30-2.30) times more chance, respectively, to have gone to the last dental appointment due to pain or caries. Adults with low OHL levels are more likely to have missing teeth and have gone to the last dental visit for pain, reinforcing the importance of OHL as an important determinant for promoting oral health.