Oral Health Profiling for Young and Older Adults: A Descriptive Study.

Jennifer Hanthorn Conquest,Marc Tennant,Estie Kruger,John Skinner

doi:10.3390/ijerph18179033

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to trial the suitability of an oral health promotion toolkit in a chair-side setting to determine: an individual’s knowledge; understanding of oral and general health behaviour and evaluate the commitment of dental practitioners to undertake an assessment of the individual’s attitude and aptitude to undertake a home care preventive plan. All participants were 18 years and over and came from low socio-economic backgrounds in rural New South Wales, Australia. The study evaluated 59 case studies regarding their knowledge of oral and general health. The study included an oral health profiling questionnaire, based on validated oral health promotion outcome measures, a full course of dental care provided by a private dental practitioner or a dental student. Out of the 59 participants, 47% of participants cleaned their teeth twice per day, 69% used fluoride toothpaste and 47% applied the toothpaste over all the bristles. The questionnaire, based on Watt et al. (2004) verified oral health prevention outcome measures was a sound approach to determine an individual’s knowledge, understanding of oral and general health behaviour. However, dental practitioners’ commitment to assessing the individual was low.

Highlights

Evidence based and best practice strategies are used to deliver effective health services, public health messages and population health strategies to improve the wellbeing of the individual and the community at large
Implementation of evidencebased care that includes oral health promotion interventions need to consider a range of implementation factors to ensure clinician buy-in and sustainability [? ]
This study provided 59 full courses of care to randomly selected participants and included oral and general health education by private dental practitioners or supervised university dental students [? ]

Summary

Introduction

Evidence based and best practice strategies are used to deliver effective health services, public health messages and population health strategies to improve the wellbeing of the individual and the community at large. ]. Implementation of evidencebased care that includes oral health promotion interventions need to consider a range of implementation factors to ensure clinician buy-in and sustainability [? ]. Oral health practitioners are expected to be active in population health preventive education within the limitations of normal interventional practice. Practitioners are aware that they need to consider an individual’s lifestyle and behaviours when promoting health education, as these factors have a great impact on oral conditions, including dental caries, gingivitis, and periodontal disease [? ]. The most significant population cohort that is internationally recognised to be at risk of poor oral health, are people from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as they usually have lower education levels, poorer diet, poorer oral hygiene and higher levels of tobacco and alcohol use [?

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Discussion

Conclusion