ASSESSING THE ORAL HEALTH LITERACY, ORAL HEALTH RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND ORAL HEALTH STATUS IN ADULT PATIENTS

Assessing the Oral Health Literacy, Oral Health Related Quality of Life and Oral Health Status in Adult Patients ABSTRACT Objectives: Oral health literacy (OHL) is an important term that used to determine the individuals skills to make appropriate oral health decisions, to process and understand basic oral health information. OHL is considered as a part of oral health. This study aimed to evaluate the association between OHL, Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) and decayed (D), missing (M) and filled (F) teeth scores (DMFT). Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on Turkish speaking, 300 voluntary individuals between the ages 18-30 that were applied to Kirikkale University Faculty of Dentistry without any cognitive impairment, visual and hearing problem. Patients’ socio-demographic information and DMFT scores were recorded. Then OHL level was detected using a word recognition test. After that OHRQoL score was determined using a special survey. Data were analyzed SPSS 16.0 programme with using Pearson correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA and Scheffe tests. Results: Male individuals had more missing teeth than female individuals (p=0.041). OHL was significantly high at higher educational level individuals (p 0.05). OHL level of the individuals’ did not associated with DT, MT, FT, DMFT and OHRQoL scores (p>0.05).Besides these findings, there is no association was found between DMFT and OHRQoL scores (p>0.05). Age factor showed a positive correlation between MT (p=0.001, r=0.197). Conclusion: The education level of the individuals has an impact on OHL levels. The association between OHL, DMFT and OHRQoL scores did not confirmed clearly. Key Words: DMFT, Oral Epidemiology, Oral Health Literacy, Quality of Life, TREALD-30. Yetiskin Hastalarda Agiz Sagligi Okuryazarligi, Agiz Sagligi ile Ilgili Yasam Kalitesi ve Agiz Sagligi Durumunun Degerlendirilmesi Ozet Amac: Agiz sagligi okuryazarligi (OHL), kisilerin uygun agiz sagligi kararlarini verme, temel agiz sagligi bilgilerini isleme ve anlama becerilerini belirlemek icin kullanilan onemli bir terimdir. OHL, agiz sagliginin bir parcasi olarak kabul edilir. Bu calisma, OHL, Agiz Sagligina Bagli Yasam Kalitesi (OHRQoL) ile curumus (D), eksik (M) ve doldurulmus (F) toplam dis skorlari (DMFT) arasindaki iliski degerlendirmeyi amacladi. Gerec ve Yontem: Bu calisma, Kirikkale Universitesi Dis Hekimligi Fakultesi'ne basvuran, 18-30 yaslari arasinda, bilissel bozukluk, gorme ve isitme problemi olmayan 300 gonullu kisi uzerinde gerceklestirildi. Hastalarin sosyo-demografik bilgileri ve DMFT skorlari kaydedildi. Hastalarin OHL seviyeleri ozel bir kelime tanima testi kullanilarak, OHRQoL skorlari ise ozel bir anket kullanilarak belirlendi. Veriler SPSS 16.0 programinda Pearson korelasyon analizi, tek yonlu ANOVA ve Scheffe testleri kullanilarak analiz edildi. Bulgular: Erkek bireylerde eksik dis sayisi kadinlardan daha fazla bulundu (p=0,41). OHL, yuksek egitim duzeyindeki bireylerde anlamli derecede yuksekti (p 0,05). OHL duzeyi bireylerin DT, MT, FT, DMFT ve OHRQoL puanlari ile iliskili bulunmadi(p>0,05). Bireylerin OHL duzeyi DT, MT, FT, DMFT ve OHRQoL skorlariyla iliskili bulunmadi (p>0,05). Bu bulgularin yani sira DMFT ile OHRQoL skorlari arasinda iliski bulunmadi (p>0.05). Yas faktoru MT ile pozitif korelasyon gosterdi (p = 0.001, r = 0.197). Sonuc: Bireylerin egitim duzeyinin OHL duzeyleri uzerinde etkisi vardir. OHL, DMFT ve OHRQoL skorlari arasindaki iliski net olarak teyit edilmemistir. Anahtar Kelimeler: DMFT, Oral Epidemiyoloji, Agiz Sagligi Okuryazarligi, Yasam Kalitesi, TREALD-30.