Table 1.
Oral Health literacy according to sample characteristics, Piracicaba, Brazil, 2010
| Variables | Low oral health literacy n (%) | High oral health literacy n (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (years) | 45–64 | 83 (71.5) | 27 (28.5) | 1.84 (0.97–3.46) | 0.061 |
| 20–44 | 84 (62.7) | 54 (37.3) | 1 | ||
| Sex | Male | 47 (68.3) | 23 (31.7) | 1.28 (0.64–2.50) | 0.480 |
| Female | 121 (73.2) | 58 (26.8) | 1 | ||
| Social class | Lower | 30 (71.5) | 8 (28.5) | 4.71 (1.43–15.46) | 0.012 |
| Lower middle | 121 (74.8) | 46 (25.2) | 3.95 (1.84–8.49) | 0.001 | |
| Middle | 16 (42.9) | 27 (57.1) | 1 | ||
| Service used | Public | 39 (68.7) | 16 (31.3) | 0.71 (0.33–1.55) | 0.378 |
| Insurance | 41 (66.0) | 17 (34.0) | 0.63 (0.22–1.83) | 0.383 | |
| Private | 85 (75.5) | 46 (24.5) | 1 | ||
| Service evaluation | Not Good | 29 (85.9) | 6 (14.1) | 2.64 (0.97–7.16) | 0.056 |
| Good | 136 (69.8) | 74 (30.2) | 1 | ||
| Frequency of dental visits | Emergency | 102 (81.8) | 30 (18.2) | 3.04 (1.60–5.80) | 0.001 |
| Regularly | 62 (59.7) | 51 (40.3) | |||
| Reason for the use of dental services | Pain | 44 (85.4) | 11 (14.6) | 3.27 (1.56–6.82) | 0.003 |
| Need | 39 (75.1) | 15 (24.9) | 1.68 (0.66–4.27) | 0.265 | |
| Routine | 78 (64.2) | 53 (35.8) | |||
| Tooth brushing | ≤2 per day | 68 (71.5) | 21 (28.5) | 2.12 (1.00–4.47) | 0.050 |
| 3+ per day | 99 (66.4) | 60 (33.6) | 1 | ||
| Tooth flossing | irregularly | 109 (71.5) | 39 (28.5) | 1.55 (0.84–2.89) | 0.158 |
| regularly | 58 (66.0) | 42 (34.0) | 1 | ||
| Impact on OHRQoL | Yes | 89 (71.5) | 26 (18.6) | 2.65 (1.19–5.89) | 0.018 |
| No | 78 (62.3) | 55 (37.7) | 1 | ||
| Decayed teeth | Yes | 69 (79.8) | 22 (20.2) | 1.95 (1.00–3.79) | 0.031 |
| No | 98 (67.0) | 59 (33.0) | 1 | ||
| Missing teeth | More than 13 teeth | 45 (80.2) | 13 (19.8) | 0.55 (0.23–1.36) | 0.188 |
| Up to 12, including anterior teeth | 39 (56.7) | 23 (43.3) | 1.00 (0.41–2.47) | 0.996 | |
| Up to 12, including posterior teeth | 42 (80.2) | 15 (19.2) | 0.32 (0.10–1.04) | 0.058 | |
| No | 41 (69.0) | 29 (31.0) | |||
| Filled teeth | Yes | 140 (70.0) | 72 (30.0) | 1.89 (0.74–4.81) | 0.177 |
| No | 27 (81.5) | 9 (18.5) | 1 | ||
| CAL > 4 mm | Yes | 20 (25.6) | 62 (74.4) | 1.28 (0.66–2.52) | 0.450 |
| No | 105 (69.4) | 61 (30.6) | 1 | ||
| Dental plaque | Yes | 77 (78.7) | 24 (21.3) | 1.90 (0.90–4.01) | 0.090 |
| No | 85 (66.1) | 56 (33.9) | 1 | ||
| Bleeding gum | Yes | 86 (68.6) | 45 (31.4) | 1.36 (0.83–2.23) | 0.214 |
| No | 81 (74.8) | 36 (25.2) | 1 | ||
OHRQoL Oral Health Related Quality of Life, CAL Clinical Attachment Loss, CI Confidence Interval
Bold numbers represent significant p values