Assessing the Oral Health Literacy, Oral Health Related Quality of Life and Oral Health Status in Adult Patients

Türkçe

Aim: Oral health literacy (OHL) is an important term that used to determine the individuals skills to make appropriate oral health decisions, to process and understand basic oral health information.OHL is considered as a part of oral health.This study aimed to evaluate the association between OHL, Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth scores (DMFT). Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on Turkish speaking, 300 voluntary individuals between the ages 18-30 that were applied to Kırıkkale University Faculty of Dentistry without any cognitive impairment, visual and hearing problem.Patients' socio-demographic information and DMFT scores were recorded.Then OHL level was detected using a word recognition test.After that OHRQoL score was determined using a special survey.Data were analyzed SPSS 16.0 programme with using Pearson correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA and Scheffe tests.Results: Male individuals had more missing teeth than female individuals (p=0.041).OHL was significantly high at higher educational level individuals (p<0.001).In terms of OHL levels, DT, MT, FT, DMFT and OHRQoL scores did not show significant differences (p>0.05).OHL level of the individuals' did not associated with DT, MT, FT, DMFT and OHRQoL scores (p>0.05).Besides these findings, there is no association was found between DMFT and OHRQoL scores (p>0.05).Age factor showed a positive correlation between MT (p=0.001,r=0.197). Conclusion:The education level of the individuals has an impact on OHL levels.The association between OHL, DMFT and OHRQoL scores did not confirmed clearly. Key Words: