Abstract
Background: Oral health (OH) is poor among young adults in Russia, but there is little information on OH-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in this population. We investigated how socio-demographic factors, self-reported OH characteristics, oral health behaviour, and clinically-assessed OH are related to OHRQoL in medical and dental students in North-West Russia. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 391 medical and 275 dental Russian undergraduate students aged 18–25 years. Information on socio-demographic, self-reported OH characteristics, and oral health behaviour was obtained from a structured, self-administered questionnaire. A clinical examination was performed to assess dental caries experience based on the decayed (D) missing (M) filled (F) teeth (T) index; Simplified Oral Hygiene Index; and Gingival Index. OHRQoL was measured by the OH Impact Profile (OHIP-14). Results: 53.6% of students reported low OHRQoL during the last 12 months. Female sex (odds ratio [OR] = 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.00–2.19), rural place of childhood residence (OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.06–2.28), poor self-assessed dental aesthetic (OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.16–2.64), dissatisfaction with mouth and teeth (OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.68–3.77), and DMFT index (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01–1.09), were all significantly, independently associated with low OHRQoL. Conclusion: Socio-demographic factors (rural place of childhood residence, female sex), poor self-reported OH characteristics, and high DMFT index were associated with low OHRQoL.
Highlights
Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the most common oral diseases, affecting millions of people worldwide
There were no significant differences across socio-demographic variables between students without missing OH Impact Profile (OHIP)-14 data (n = 729) and those with missing data (n = 78)
In the present study, we found that the OHIP includes 14 items (OHIP-14) dimensions of physical pain and psychological discomfort were the biggest drivers of low OH-related quality of life (OHRQoL), which is in line with all aforementioned studies [10,15,17,18]
Summary
Dental caries and periodontal diseases are the most common oral diseases, affecting millions of people worldwide. In addition to objective methods of oral health (OH) evaluation performed by dental professionals, patient perception of oral disease is important in the assessment of treatment needs and clinical outcome [1,2]. The concept of OH-related quality of life (OHRQoL) uses patient-centred outcome measures to identify the impact of OH on aspects of everyday life in terms of a person’s functional, social, and psychological well-being [3]. The OH Impact Profile (OHIP) is widely used to measure OHRQoL in adults and dentate elderly people [2]. Oral health (OH) is poor among young adults in Russia, but there is little information on OH-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in this population. We investigated how socio-demographic factors, self-reported OH characteristics, oral health behaviour, and clinically-assessed OH are related to OHRQoL in medical and dental students in North-West Russia
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