Clinical factors and self-perceived oral health

• Published in: European journal of oral sciences Vol. 122; no. 2; pp. 134 - 141
• Main Authors: Schützhold, Svenja, Holtfreter, Birte, Schiffner, Ulrich, Hoffmann, Thomas, Kocher, Thomas, Micheelis, Wolfgang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.04.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Age Factors; Aged; Attitude to Health; Awareness; caries; Dental Caries - classification; Dental Caries - psychology; Dental Prosthesis - psychology; Dental Restoration, Permanent - classification; Dental Restoration, Permanent - psychology; Dentistry; Denture, Complete - psychology; Denture, Partial, Fixed - psychology; Denture, Partial, Removable - psychology; DMF Index; Female; German oral health study; Germany; Health Status; Humans; Male; older people; Oral Health - classification; Periodontal Attachment Loss - classification; Periodontal Attachment Loss - psychology; Periodontal Diseases - classification; Periodontal Diseases - psychology; Periodontal Index; Self Concept; self-perceived oral health; Tooth Loss - classification; Tooth Loss - psychology; Germany; self-perceived oral health; older people; adult; German oral health study; caries
• ISSN: 0909-8836; 1600-0722
• DOI: 10.1111/eos.12117

Self‐perceived oral health is affected not only by awareness of the clinical status but also by comparisons with people of a similar age. This study explored the relative contributions of clinical variables assessing caries, periodontal status, and prosthetic status to self‐perceived oral health within two age groups. Data of 891 adults (35–44 yr of age) and 760 older people (65–74 yr of age) from the Fourth German Oral Health Study (DMS IV, 2005) were evaluated. Self‐perceived oral health was obtained from questionnaires. Numbers of decayed, filled, and unreplaced teeth, mean attachment loss, bleeding on probing (BOP), the presence of a fixed denture, and the presence of a removable denture were assessed. Multinomial logistic regression models were developed for both age groups, separately, using stepwise methods. For adults, unreplaced teeth, filled teeth, decayed teeth, the presence of a removable denture, and mean attachment loss were added to the final model. For older people, the presence of a removable denture, unreplaced teeth, decayed teeth, mean attachment loss, filled teeth, and BOP were included in the final model. Awareness of the relative contributions of clinical variables to self‐perceived oral health is important for obtaining a clearer understanding of patients' subjective and objective self‐perceptions of oral health.