Correlation of Oral Health Literacy with Demographic Factors and Oral Hygiene Among the Elderly

Bayu Brahmana Kridaningrat ； Anandina Irmagita Soegyanto ； Yuniardini Septorini Wimardhani

《Journal of International Dental and Medical Research》 10卷S期 (2017/12) Pp. 460-464

摘要

The increase in life expectancy has affected many aspects related to quality of life, including oral health among the elderly. Oral health literacy (OHL) is the ability to improve oral health status by ensuring good and exploiting health information. This ability in the elderly is very important. Therefore, research on the correlation between the OHL score, oral hygiene, and factors influencing these in the elderly is vital. This study aimed to determine the OHL scores of independent elderly individuals and correlate them with demographic factors and Simplified Oral Hygiene Index (OHI-S) scores. This cross-sectional study included 99 independent elderly individuals in Depok who were administered the Health Literacy in Dentistry questionnaire and underwent oral examination. Seventy-six respondents were finally included, with a mean OHL score of 2.53 ± 0.85 and OHI-S score of 2.8 ± 1.10. The bivariate no n-parametric Spearman test showed correlations between the OHL score and gender, education level, and expenses per month (P＜0.05) but no correlation between the OHL and OHI-S scores (P＞ 0.05). The OHL score of independent elderly individuals in Depok is influenced by gender, education level, and expense per month.

關鍵字

oral health literacy ； oral hygiene status ； Independent elderly