Orthodontics
Mahdjoube Goldani Moghadam; Hanieh kazemi; Abouzar Shakeri
Abstract
Background: Oral health literacy (OHL) is one of the most important determinants of oral health. A missed appointment has many potential implications for oral health and treatment outcomes. Given the importance of the topic in community oral health programming, the purpose of this study was to examine ...
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Background: Oral health literacy (OHL) is one of the most important determinants of oral health. A missed appointment has many potential implications for oral health and treatment outcomes. Given the importance of the topic in community oral health programming, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between oral health literacy, missed appointments, and DMFT in adults attending the orthodontic clinic of Birjand.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 172 adults who were randomly referred to Birjand orthodontic clinic. Health literacy was assessed using the questionnaire OHL-AQ. In addition, missed appointments were reviewed over a one-year period. DMF index was also calculated using the patient's first panoramic radiograph. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18. A significant level (p = 0.05) was considered.Results: This study was conducted on 172 patients referred to the orthodontic clinic, with a mean age of 24,64.9 years, a minimum age of 18 and a maximum age of 42 years. The oral health literacy of the participants was 12.23.2 There was no significant association between oral health literacy and gender, missed appointments, and DMFT index (P > 0.05), but education was an effective factor for the level of oral health literacy (P < 0.002).Conclusion: The study found adequate OHL, which could be due to a high level of education. However, health policy makers should devise programs to promote oral health in the community. Oral health literacy was not influenced by gender, absenteeism and DMFT, but education was a factor that influenced the level of oral health literacy.
