Abstract
BackgroundOral health impairment comprises three conceptual domains; pain, appearance and function. This study sought to: (1) estimate the prevalence of severe oral health impairment as assessed by a summary oral health impairment measure, including aspects of dental pain, dissatisfaction with dental appearance and difficulty eating, among a birth cohort of Indigenous Australian young adults (n = 442, age range 16-20 years); (2) compare prevalence according to demographic, socio-economic, behavioural, dental service utilisation and oral health outcome risk indicators; and (3) ascertain the independent contribution of those risk indicators to severe oral health impairment in this population.MethodsData were from the Aboriginal Birth Cohort (ABC) study, a prospective longitudinal investigation of Aboriginal individuals born 1987-1990 at an Australian regional hospital. Data for this analysis pertained to Wave-3 of the study only. Severe oral health impairment was defined as reported experience of toothache, poor dental appearance and food avoidance in the last 12 months. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate effects of demographic, socio-economic, behavioural, dental service utilisation and clinical oral disease indicators on severe oral health impairment. Effects were quantified as odds ratios (OR).ResultsThe percent of participants with severe oral health impairment was 16.3 (95% CI 12.9-19.7). In the multivariate model, severe oral health impairment was associated with untreated dental decay (OR 4.0, 95% CI 1.6-9.6). In addition to that clinical indicator, greater odds of severe oral health impairment were associated with being female (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.2-3.6), being aged 19-20 years (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.2-3.6), soft drink consumption every day or a few days a week (OR 2.6, 95% 1.2-5.6) and non-ownership of a toothbrush (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.1-3.4).ConclusionsSevere oral health impairment was prevalent among this population. The findings suggest that public health strategies that address prevention and treatment of dental disease, self-regulation of soft drink consumption and ownership of oral self-care devices are needed if severe oral health impairment among Indigenous Australian young adults is to be reduced.
Highlights
Oral health impairment comprises three conceptual domains; pain, appearance and function
The self-reported experience of toothache is strongly correlated with untreated dental disease [6]
Babies were eligible for enrolment if they were live born singletons delivered at the Royal Darwin Hospital, Northern Territory, Australia between January 1987 and March 1990 to a mother recorded as Aboriginal
Summary
Oral health impairment comprises three conceptual domains; pain, appearance and function. Interest in the impact of oral diseases on quality of life has intensified [1] This is due to the increased recognition that clinical oral health measures, when used in isolation, lack context without additional measures of the functional and psychosocial aspects of oral health, as well as the concerns and perceived needs of a given population [2]. This has led to the development of instruments that measure perceived impacts of oral health, which have in turn enabled greater insight into the emerging domains of oral health-related quality. Disparities in self-reported experience of toothache are well recognised, with ethnic minority groups, the financially-disadvantaged and those with less formal education being disproportionately represented [7]
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