To investigate the association between critical and communicative oral health literacy (OHL) and oral health outcomes (status, oral health-related quality of life and practices) in adults. This cross-sectional study examined a household probability sample of 248 adults, representing 149,635 residents (20–64 years old) in Piracicaba-SP, Brazil. Clinical oral health and socioeconomic and demographic data, as well as data on oral health-related quality of life (OHIP-14) and health practices were collected. The oral examinations were carried out in the participants’ homes, using the World Health Organization criteria for oral diseases. The critical and communicative OHL instrument was the primary independent variable, and it was measured using five Likert items that were dichotomized as ‘high’ (‘agree’ and ‘strongly agree’ responses for the 5 items) and ‘low’ OHL. Binary and multinomial logistic regressions were performed on each outcome (oral health status and practices), controlling for age, sex and socioeconomic status (SES). Approximately 71.5% presented low OHL. When adjusted for age and sex (first model) low OHL was associated with untreated caries (Odds Ratio = 1.92, 95% Confidence Interval = 1.07–3.45), tooth brushing <3 times a day (OR = 2.00, 1.11–3.62) and irregular tooth flossing (OR = 2.17, 1.24–3.80). After SES inclusion in the first model, significant associations were found for low OHL when the outcomes were: presence of biofilm (OR = 1.83, 1.08–3.33), dental care for emergency only (OR = 2.24, 1.24–4.04) and prevalence of oral health impact on quality of life (OR = 2.06, 1.15–3.69). Adjusting for age, sex and SES, OHL is related to a risk factor (biofilm) and a consequence of poor oral health (emergency dental visits) and can interfere with the impact of oral diseases on quality of life. As low OHL can be modified, the results support oral health promotion strategies directed at improving critical and communicative oral health literacy in adult populations.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of tooth loss on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in adults with emphasis on the number of teeth lost and their relative position in the mouth. The study population was a cross-sectional household probability sample of 248, representing 149,635 20–64 year-old residents in Piracicaba-SP, Brazil. OHRQoL was measured using the OHIP-14. Socioeconomic, demographic, health literacy, dental services use data and clinical variables were collected. Oral examinations were performed using WHO criteria for caries diagnosis, using the DMFT index; that is, the sum of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT). An ordinal scale for tooth loss, based on position and number of missing teeth, was the main explanatory variable. The total OHIP score was the outcome for negative binomial regression and OHIP prevalence was the outcome for logistic regression at 5% level. A hierarchical modeling approach was adopted according to conceptual model. OHIP score was 10.21 (SE 1.16) with 48.1% (n=115) reporting one or more impacts fairly/very often (OHIP prevalence). Significant prevalence rate ratios (PRRs) for OHIP severity were observed for those who had lost up to 12 teeth, including one or more anterior teeth (PRR=1.63, 95%CI 1.06–2.51), those who had lost 13–31 teeth (PRR=2.33, 95%CI 1.49–3.63), and the edentulous (PRR=2.66, 95%CI 1.55–4.57) compared with fully dentate adults. Other significant indicators included those who only sought dental care because of dental pain (PRR=1.67, 95%CI 1.11–2.51) or dental needs (PRR=1.84, 95%CI 1.24–2.71) and having untreated caries (PRR=1.57 95%CI 1.09–2.26). Tooth loss was not significantly associated with OHIP prevalence; instead using dental services due to dental pain (PR=2.43, 95%CI 1.01–5.82), having untreated caries (PR=3.96, 95%CI 1.85–8.51) and low income (PR=2.80, 95%CI 1.26–6.42) were significant risk indicators for reporting OHIP prevalence. Our analyses showed OHRQoL gradients consistent with the number and position of teeth missing due to oral disease. These findings suggest that the quantity of teeth lost does not necessarily reflect the impact of tooth mortality on OHRQoL and that future studies should take this into consideration.

The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for tooth loss in an extended age group of adults over 4 years. The prospective cohort study assessed adults (20–64 years old) in 2011 and 2015, from Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. The sample selection was planned based on the adult population in the city. The inclusion criteria were randomly selected residences per census tract unit (one adult per household). The exclusion criteria comprised of a physical or psychological state that prevented the achievement of clinical procedures or understanding of the questionnaire. The home oral examination was performed using the index of decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT), the Community Periodontal Index according to the World Health Organization, and visible biofilm. Demographic and socio-economic data, information on health habits, and the use of dental services were obtained by questionnaire. The outcome was a presence incidence of tooth loss, assessed by the difference between Missing teeth (M>0) from DMFT in 2011 and that in 2015. The conceptual theoretical model ‘Ethnicity, aging and oral health outcomes’ was adapted for tooth loss and used in a Hierarchical multivariate Poisson Regression analysis (p<0.20). The reference category for the Poisson regression were individuals who had no missing teeth (M) due to caries or periodontal disease (p<0.05). There were a total of 143 (follow-up rate = 57.7%) participants in the four-year study, and there was incidence of tooth loss in 51 (35.7%) adults over this period. The risk factors for tooth loss were reason for seeking dental services by pain (RR = 2.72; 95.0% CI: 1.04–7.37), previous tooth loss (RR = 3.01; 95.0% CI: 1.18–7.73) and decayed teeth (RR = 2.87; 95.0% CI: 1.22–6.73). The risk factors for tooth loss were: reason for seeking dental services by pain, previous tooth loss and dental caries.

O presente estudo caracterizou a condição de saúde bucal e os principais motivos autorrelatados da extração dentária em uma população de adultos. Estudo transversal que examinou 248 adultos de 20-64 anos, representativos da população de Piracicaba (SP). O exame bucal domiciliar utilizou os índices CPOD, CPI, uso e necessidade de prótese dentária segundo critérios da OMS e presença de biofilme visível. Foram coletados dados demográficos, socioeconômicos e motivos da extração dentária por meio de questionário. A análise descritiva foi estratificada pela idade em 20-44 e 45-64 anos. O CPOD médio foi 20,37, P = 3,34 nos adultos jovens e P = 13,41 nos mais velhos. Bolsa periodontal (CPI ≥ 3) foi encontrada em 20,5% dos adultos jovens e 53,0% dos mais velhos. Enquanto 38,8% usavam prótese superior, 46,7% necessitavam de prótese inferior. A dor foi o motivo autorrelatado mais prevalente para realização da extração dentária, sendo esta escolha principalmente pela falta de outra opção de tratamento e no serviço privado. Conclui-se que os adultos jovens (20-44 anos) apresentaram menos dentes perdidos e doença periodontal, uso e necessidade de prótese. Dor e falta de opção de outros tratamentos foram os principais motivos autorrelatados para realização das extrações dentárias.

Resumo Foram avaliadas as propriedades psicométricas da versão brasileira do 14-item Health Literacy Scale (HLS-14). No estudo metodológico com delineamento transversal realizou-se tradução, adaptação transcultural e avaliação das propriedades psicométricas. Depois de passar por comitê de especialistas, traduzido e adaptado, o instrumento foi pré-testado em 52 adultos, e aplicado em 143 adultos e idosos de Piracicaba-SP. A consistência interna foi avaliada através do coeficiente de correlação de Kendall e α de Cronbach (>0,70) e a análise fatorial confirmatória (AFC) por meio do teste de qui-quadrado, raiz quadrada média residual padronizada (SRMR), raiz da média dos quadrados dos erros de aproximação (RMSEA) (0,95) e índice de Tucker-Lewis (TLI) (>0,95). A equivalência operacional apresentou concordância entre as questões, com exceção das questões 6, 8, 9 e 14. O coeficiente α de Cronbach foi 0,82. Houve ajuste razoável na AFC, CFI=0,886, TLI=0,86, RMSEA=0,085 (IC90%: 0,065-0,105), SRMR=0,071, qui-quadrado (74 graus de liberdade) =149,510, p<0,001. A exclusão da questão 5 elevou os índices de ajuste a níveis satisfatórios. A versão brasileira do HLS-14 foi considerada válida para mensurar literacia em saúde.