Assessment of oral health literacy of principal caregivers and its association with dental caries in Mexican disabled pediatric patients

Julio Carlos Garnica-Palazuelos1Orcid, Mercedes Bermúdez2Orcid, Juan Luis Cota-Quintero3Orcid, Gerardo Bueno-Acuña4Orcid, Sandra Santana-Delgado5Orcid, Ana Larrinua-Pacheco6Orcid, Claudia Bujanda-Ríos7Orcid, Maricela Ramírez-Álvarez8Orcid, Carlos Villegas-Mercado9Orcid

Highlights

Disabled persons have a higher incidence of caries and periodontal disease than the general population.
Oral health literacy level of principal caregivers was significantly associated with disabled pediatric patient´s high result in the DMFT index.
Low oral health literacy level of principal caregivers is a risk factor to have a high DMFT in disabled pediatric patients.

Abstract

Aim: To assess oral health literacy (OHL) of principal caregivers (PC) and its association with dental caries in Mexican disabled pediatric patients (DPP). Methods: 40 disabled patients and their PC were recruited from the pediatric dentistry Clinic (UAS) and the Center of Rehabilitation and Special Education of the Institute for Integral Development of the Family in Sinaloa, Mexico. Spanish Oral Health Literacy Scale (SOHLS) was used fo r the OHL assessment of PC. DPP were subject to clinical examinations to observe the mean number of decaye d, missing, or filled teeth through the DMFT index. Disabilities were classified in neuromotor, auditive and language, visual, intellectual, or multiple. To estimate OHL differences, the variable was divided into 3 categories according to the obtained score: low (0-16), medium (17-22), or high (23-29). For the logistic regression model, the variable was categorized on 2 according to ANOVA results: lower (0 -22) and high (23-29) to estimate the association between PC low OHL and DMFT percentual increase. Results: Regarding DPP, there were no differences in age expressed in years (12.47(±8.16) (p=0.673)), DMTF (0.34(±0.26) (p=0.673)) or the number of teeth (23.32(±5.29) (p=0.653). Besides, no differences were found in PC age expressed in years (41.22(±8.91) (p=0.795)), PC scholarship expressed in years (3.95(±8.91) (p=0.128)) or PC OHL (22.27(±3.99) (p=0.205)). The logistic regression model categorizing OHL on high (>22) and low (≤22) found 0.97% more risk to be a PC with low OHL per percentual unit of DMFT inc rement (p=0.041). Conclusions: The OHL level of PC is significantly associated with DPP ́s high result in the DMFT.

Keywords: Caregivers; Dental Caries; Dentistry; Literacy

Author Affiliations

  1. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Mexico
  2. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México
  3. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Mexico
  4. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México
  5. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México
  6. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México
  7. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México
  8. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Sinaloa, Mexico
  9. Professor, Faculty of Dentistry, Autonomous University of Chihuahua, México ( Correspondence: cmercado@uach.mx)
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Article Info

Contemp Pediatr Dent 2021:2(3):151-157

Received: 18 November 2021

Accepted: 20 December 2021

Online First: 21 December 2021

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					Julio Carlos Garnica-Palazuelos, Mercedes Bermúdez, Juan Luis Cota-Quintero, Sandra Santana-Delgado, Ana Larrinua-Pacheco, Maricela Ramírez-Álvarez, Carlos Villegas-Mercado. Assessment of oral health literacy of principal caregivers and its association with dental caries in Mexican disabled pediatric patients. Contemp Pediatr Dent 2021:2(3):151-157.
				
			

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