Table 2.
Oral health of participants by perceived dental treatment needs
| ALL (n = 596) | Perceived dental treatment needs |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yes (n = 216) n (%) | No need (n = 380) n (%) | P-value | ||
| (a) Dental condition, symptom, and oral health behaviours (n = 596) Objective oral health condition | ||||
| Number of natural teeth present | ||||
| 0 | 83 (13.9) | 20 (9.3) | 63 (16.6) | 0.01 |
| 1–9 | 88 (14.8) | 29 (13.4) | 59 (15.5) | |
| 10–19 | 163 (27.3) | 75 (34.7) | 88 (23.2) | |
| ≥20 | 262 (44.0) | 92 (42.6) | 170 (44.7) | |
| Functional Tooth Units (FTUs) | ||||
| 0–6 | 227 (38.1) | 95 (44.0) | 132 (34.7) | 0.02 |
| 7–11 | 204 (34.2) | 75 (34.7) | 129 (33.9) | |
| 12 | 165 (27.7) | 46 (21.3) | 119 (31.3) | |
| Decayed tooth surface | ||||
| 0 | 440 (73.8) | 151 (69.9) | 289 (76.1) | 0.02 |
| 1–2 | 67 (11.2) | 21 (9.7) | 46 (12.1) | |
| ≥3 | 89 (14.9) | 44 (20.4) | 45 (11.8) | |
| Edentate | 83 (13.9) | 20 (9.3) | 63 (16.6) | 0.01 |
| Normative treatment need for prosthodontics or restoration* | 405 (68.0) | 157 (72.7) | 248 (65.3) | 0.07 |
| Symptom and oral health behaviours | ||||
| Experienced pain in maxillofacial area in the past month† | 50 (8.4) | 27 (12.5) | 23 (6.1) | 0.01 |
| Self-rated oral health (excellent/very good/good) | 423 (71.0) | 107 (49.5) | 316 (83.2) | <0.01 |
| Frequency of visiting dental professionals (once a year or more) | 349 (58.6) | 119 (55.1) | 230 (60.5) | 0.23 |
| Usual reason for dental visits | ||||
| Check-up | 324 (54.4) | 100 (46.3) | 224 (58.9) | 0.01 |
| Dental problem | 236 (39.6) | 104 (48.1) | 132 (34.7) | |
| Can't recall | 36 (6.0) | 12 (5.6) | 24 (6.3) | |
| Last visit to a dental professional (less than 12 months ago) | 317 (53.2) | 108 (50.0) | 209 (55.0) | 0.01 |
| ALL (n = 289) | Perceived dental treatment needs |
|||
| Yes (n = 111) | No need (n = 178) | P-value | ||
| (b) Periodontal assessment (n = 289) Periodontitis | ||||
| No | 40 (13.8) | 12 (10.8) | 28 (15.7) | <0.01 |
| Mild/moderate | 167 (57.8) | 55 (49.5) | 112 (62.9) | |
| Severe | 82 (28.4) | 44 (39.6) | 38 (21.3) | |
| Normative treatment need for prosthodontics, restoration, or periodontitis | 277 (95.8) | 110 (99.1) | 167 (93.8) | 0.03 |
(a) Includes 596 participants who completed self-completed questionnaire and oral health assessment for FTU and decayed teeth. (b) Includes 289 participants who further underwent oral health assessment for periodontal disease.
⁎
People with one or more decayed tooth surface or FTU < 10 were categorised as having normative need.
†
People were asked about pain or discomfort from their face, mouth, jaw, or teeth limited from doing activities.
‡ People with one or more decayed tooth surface, FTU < 10, or periodontitis were categorised as having normative need.