Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate associations between oral health literacy and family, sociodemographic and dental service characteristics in early adolescents. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 740 schoolchildren. The following variables were investigated using validated questionnaires: oral health literary (BREALD-30), sociodemographic characteristics, type of dental service and family functioning (FACES III). Associations were tested using robust Poisson regression analysis (α=5%). Higher oral health literacy was associated with the female sex (RR=1.09; 95%CI: 1.03-1.14), connected type of family cohesion (RR=1.12; 95%CI: 1.05-1.20), rigid (RR=1.14; 95%CI: 1.04-1.25) and structured (RR=1.11; 95%CI: 1.04-1.20) types of family adaptability, more than eight years of mother's schooling (RR=1.16; 95%CI: 1.10-1.22), age of caregiver more than 38 years (RR=1.07; 95%CI: 1.02-1.13) and the use of private dental services (RR=1.06; 95%CI: 1.01-1.12). The level of oral health literacy in early adolescents was associated with sex, family structure, mother's schooling, caregiver's age and type of dental service used.
Highlights
Oral health literacy (OHL) is an emerging topic and there has been recent concern in understanding how it exerts an influence on the health of the population
The female sex, a higher level of mother’s schooling, older caregiver’s age and the use of private dental services were associated with higher levels of OHL among the students analysed in the present study
Types of family cohesion and adaptability exerted an influence on the level of OHL
Summary
Oral health literacy (OHL) is an emerging topic and there has been recent concern in understanding how it exerts an influence on the health of the population. Efforts have been directed at developing instruments for the assessment of skills related to OHL, such as word recognition[2], conceptual knowledge[3] and the ability to perform mathematical calculations[4] Such studies have been largely directed at adults and children (proxy measures), with few investigations into the OHL of adolescents[5]. Low OHL has recently been associated with difficulties in seeking information on oral health as well as a low frequency of follow up visits during dental treatment in adults[6]. Such behaviours favour the emergence of oral health problems[1,4]. OHL has been associated with some oral health outcomes, such as dental caries in preschool children, but such knowledge has not yet been consolidated in the literature due to the variety of methods employed and the scarcity of studies on this issue[7]
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