Oral Health Literacy and Dental Caries Status in Adults

To assess the relationship between oral health literacy (OHL) and dental caries among a convenience sample of adult, first-time patients at two U.S. dental schools; we hypothesized that adults with low OHL would have fewer teeth, more untreated dental decay, and fewer restorations.

This cross-sectional analysis was part of the larger Multisite Oral Health Literacy Research (MOHLR) Study. OHL was assessed using the Comprehensive Measure of Oral Health Knowledge (CMOHK). The dental caries outcome variables (number of decayed, filled, decayed plus filled, and teeth present) were abstracted from electronic dental records and represented the clinical conditions at the initial visit. We calculated OHL prevalence estimates and crude and adjusted negative binomial regression parameters for the outcome variables, controlling for relevant sociodemographic covariates.

We recruited 922 participants into the MOHLR Study, and 688 provided clinical data for this report. Crude analyses showed persons with low OHL had significantly fewer filled teeth (e^x = 0.67), decayed plus filled teeth (e^x = 0.76), and teeth present (e^x = 0.96) than those with high OHL. After controlling for covariates, the low versus high differences remained significant for the number of filled (e^x = 0.81) and decayed plus filled teeth (e^x = 0.84). There was no significant relationship between CMOHK and the number of decayed teeth.

The relationship between OHL and dental caries in an adult population of dental school patients is complex. Additional research, likely involving qualitative studies and more precise epidemiological assessments, is needed to understand this complicated association.