Relationship between oral health literacy and oral health behaviors and clinical status in Japanese adults

Background/purpose: Health literacy is recognized as an important determinant of health as well as a causal factor in health disparities among different population groups. However, the paucity of information on oral health literacy makes urgent the need for more research on this important topic. The objective of this study was to investigate how oral health literacy relates to oral health behaviors, as well as clinical dental and periodontal condition. Materials and methods: A self-administered questionnaire and dental examination collected information on demographics of 589 adult residents of Akita prefecture, Japan, including: oral health behaviors; oral hygiene status; oral health literacy; number of natural teeth, decayed teeth, and functional tooth units (FTUs); and community periodontal index. Results: Less than half of the participants knew the Japanese words such as "dental plaque," "scaling," "gingivitis," "fluoride mouth rinsing," "8020 campaign," "mouthwash," and "denture plaque," or answered "true" in response to the statement: "Scaling is related to periodontal disease." The higher a participant's oral health literacy, the more often they brushed their teeth or dentures, self-checked oral condition with a mirror, had regular dental checkups, and the better their oral hygiene status. Furthermore, individuals with higher oral health literacy had higher mean numbers of natural teeth, n-FTUs, and nif-FTUs. Participants with higher oral health literacy also had fewer decayed teeth. Participants with low oral health literacy were more likely to fall into a higher category of the community periodontal index code compared to those with high oral health literacy. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that oral health literacy is associated with differences in oral health behaviors and clinical oral health status. An understanding of participants' oral health literacy levels is crucial for designing effective health educational materials and creating intervention programs to promote oral health. Copyright (c) 2012, Association for Dental Sciences of the Republic of China. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. All rights reserved.