Oral Health Literacy and Oral Health Status Among Elderly in Geriatric Dental Clinic, The 9^(th) Regional Health Promotion Centre, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

10.30207/AHLA.202312.0002

Namon Phetnin

Health Literacy ； Oral Health ； Elderly

The Proceeding of the 9th AHLA International Health Literacy Conference: Health Literacy and Social Resilience

2023（2023 / 12 / 01）

2 - 2

英文

Background: Health literacy is becoming increasingly recognized as a crucial factor in achieving high-quality overall health outcomes. Oral health literacy, in particular, plays a critical role in promoting proper oral health and improving quality of life. Objective: This study aimed to examine the level of oral health literacy among elderly patients in the Geriatric Dental Clinic and to determine the association between oral health literacy and oral health status. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 155 older adults aged up to 60 years. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Fisher's exact test and Spearman's correlation were used to determine the relationship between oral health literacy and related factors and oral health status. All analyses were conducted at 95% confidence interval, with statistical significance set at a p-value less than 0.05. Results: The study found that the mean oral health literacy score was 15.60±0.14, with 86.5% of participants having a high level, 11.6% having a low level, and 1.9% having a very low level of oral health literacy. The study also found a significant association between oral health literacy and demographic data, including education levels, income, and occupation, with pvalues of 0.000, 0.0013, and 0.002, respectively. Furthermore, oral health status, as measured by plaque index, periodontal screening status, and missing teeth, was significantly associated with oral health literacy at p-values of 0.001, 0.020, and 0.000, respectively. Conclusion: The study concluded that patients with lower oral health literacy were more likely to report poor oral hygiene than those with higher oral health literacy. This highlights the need for interventions that can improve oral health literacy among elderly patients in the Geriatric Dental Clinic to promote better oral health outcomes.