Oral Health Literacy, Attitude, and Practices and Their Influence on Oral Health Status Among Sugar Mill Workers in Villupuram District: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND

Oral diseases constitute a significant component of the global disease burden; however, they remain largely preventable through appropriate knowledge acquisition and the adoption of positive health behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate oral health literacy (OHL), attitude, and practices and examine their association with oral health status among sugar mill workers.

METHODOLOGY: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 260 participants aged 18-60 years in Villupuram District. A validated questionnaire (Health Literacy in Dentistry Scale (HeLD-14)) about OHL, attitude, and practices was used to collect data, followed by which oral health status was assessed using the Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index and the Community Periodontal Index/Loss of Attachment (CPI/LOA) indices. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test in IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

RESULTS

The mean age of the participants was 37.5 ± 7.5 years, with 75.8% of them being males. Participants exhibiting higher OHL demonstrated significantly lower DMFT scores and better periodontal status (p < 0.05). Similarly, positive oral health attitude and practices were significantly associated with better CPI scores (p < 0.05). However, no significant association was found between attitude, practices, and LOA or DMFT scores (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This study concludes that higher OHL was significantly associated with lower caries experience and better periodontal status among the participants. Similarly, attitude and practices showed a positive influence on periodontal health. Enhancing OHL may therefore be a key strategy for improving oral health in this population.