Population groups at high risk for poor oral self care: the basis for oral health promotion

Summary

Objectives:

Identification of population groups at high risk for poor oral self-care in adults was needed in order to enable more focused planning of oral health promotion actions in Slovenia.

Methods:

The study was based on the national health behaviour database in adults aged 25-64. Data collected in 2001 were used. The sample size was 15,379. The overall response rate was 64 %, and 8,392 questionnaires were eligible for oral self-care assessment. A complex indicator based on oral hygiene, frequency of visiting a dentist, and nutritional habits was derived. The outcome of interest was poor oral self-care. Logistic regression was used to test multivariate associations between several factors (gender, age, educational level, social class, etc.) and poor oral self-care.

Results:

The overall prevalence of poor oral self-care was 6.9 %. The odds for this outcome were higher for men (OR_{males vs. females} = 7.49, p < 0.001), (or participants with the lowest educational levels (OR_{uncompleted primary vs. university} = 5.95, p < 0.001; OR_{primary vs. university} = 4.95, p < 0.001), and for participants from the lowest social classes (OR_{lower vs. upper-middle} = 6.20, p < 0.001; OR_{labour vs. upper-middle} = 4.05, p = 0.001).

Conclusions:

Special attention should be paid to oral health promotion for men, for those with low educational level, and for those belonging to the lowest social classes.