Oral disadvantage among dentate adults

Area of Science:

• Oral health research
• Public health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Oral disadvantage involves avoiding activities due to oral health issues like disease, pain, or functional limitations.
• The Florida Dental Care Study (FDCS) is a longitudinal investigation into oral health changes in adults aged 45 and older.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the psychometric properties of measuring oral disadvantage.
• To characterize oral disadvantage in a diverse adult population.
• To examine the links between oral disadvantage and oral health status (disease, pain, function).

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 873 dentate adults (≥45 years) from the Florida Dental Care Study (FDCS).
• Employed eight self-reported measures to assess oral disadvantage prevalence over six months.
• Conducted factor analysis to identify dimensions of oral disadvantage and multivariate analyses to explore associated factors.

Main Results:

• Oral disadvantage prevalence ranged from 5% to 25% based on the measure used.
• Factor analysis identified three core components: disadvantage from oral disease/tissue damage, oral pain, and oral functional limitation.
• Higher prevalence observed in irregular dental attenders, low-income individuals, and Black adults. Females reported more disadvantage from disease/tissue damage; middle-aged adults and irregular attenders reported more disadvantage from pain.

Conclusions:

• Oral disadvantage is a multidimensional construct influenced by oral health status.
• Specific demographic groups face higher risks, highlighting disparities in oral health impact.
• Findings inform the use of oral disadvantage as an outcome measure in dental care research and practice.