Role of oral health literacy in demand for oral healthcare services for missing teeth replacement among dental patients visiting a dental teaching hospital in India.

AIMS: To assess the role of oral health literacy (OHL) in demand for oral healthcare services for missing teeth replacement among adult patients who are visiting the outpatient department of a teaching hospital, Andhra Pradesh, India.

SETTINGS AND

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study was conducted in a dental teaching institute, Andhra Pradesh, southern part of India.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, a sample of adult participants was selected through systematic random method from the patients who visited the outpatient department. Data from 740 participants were included in the final analysis. A prevalidated questionnaire adopted from Oral Health Literacy Adult Questionnaire (OHL-AQ) was used for data collection and american dental association (ADA) type IV clinical examination was used for recording missing teeth.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Bivariate tests such as the Chi-square test, Mann-Whitney's test, and multinomial logistic regression analysis were used to assess the predictors for the demand for the replacement of missing teeth.

RESULTS

The overall demand for replacement of missing teeth was 46.22%. 37.88% of participants had adequate OHL, 24.72% had marginal OHL, and 37.4% had inadequate OHL. Demand for replacement was more in females than males (57.6% vs. 35.6%), which was statistically significant (P = 0.00). Participants with missing anterior teeth had nearly twice the demand for prosthodontic care (P = 0.046). Participants with adequate OHL had 3.63 times more demand for prosthodontic replacement of missing teeth (odds ratio = 3.63 and P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

OHL has a positive role in the demand for prosthodontic replacement of missing teeth along with gender and anterior missing teeth. Oral health policies should incorporate strategies to improve OHL.