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Updated: Jan 12, 2026
Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
The Role of Health Literacy in Adults' Dental Service Utilisation: A Scoping Review
Xuanyun Lu1, Sucharita Nanjappa1, Thushani Indumani Devi Wijesiri1
1School of Dentistry, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK.
Objectives:
Health literacy refers to an individual's ability to understand health information, navigate healthcare systems, make informed decisions and adopt health-promoting behaviours. The scoping review examined the available literature to explore adults' health literacy levels, health literacy measurements, and the role of health literacy in adults' dental service utilisation.
Methods:
The scoping review used Arksey and O'Malley's framework, refined by Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed studies, published in English with adult participants in a dental setting. Four databases (MEDLINE via PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and ASSIA) were searched for relevant studies from January 2000 to January 2025.
Results:
Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with 12 out of 19 conducted in the US. Health literacy was assessed by 11 different measures. Although most studies reported relatively inadequate health literacy levels, inconsistent findings persist due to a lack of consensus on measurement. Dental service utilisation, primarily assessed by dental visits, dental information seeking, and dentist-patient communication, demonstrated inconsistent associations with health literacy.
Conclusions:
While some studies suggested a positive association between health literacy and dental service utilisation, the mechanisms through which health literacy influenced dental service utilisation remained unclear and required further investigation.
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