Oral Health and Quality of Life in adults living in Northeastern Brazil

Paulo Sérgio de Mello Guimarães Jr., Débora Rosana Alves Braga, Maria Vieira de Lima Saintrain

Epidemiology. Oral Health. Quality of Life. Adults.

Objective: To assess the oral health-related quality of life of adult people regarding social, physical and psychological aspects. Methods: Analytical cross-sectional research conducted with adults living in Northeastern Brazil. Patients were assessed through three questionnaires: Sociodemographic (age, gender, skin color, marital status, education and income); OHIP-14 - instrument that assesses the impact of oral health on quality of life; COHI - Community Oral Health Indicator, which assesses: 1- Masticatory capacity; 2- Oral health injuries; 3- Use of dental prosthesis; 4) Dental visits. Results: The research was conducted from January to April 2015 in two randomly-selected Primary Health Care centers Participants were 264 people whose age ranged 18-59 years (mean 37.06 years and SD±10.994). Statistically significant differences were found between mean OHIP scores and socioeconomic data: skin color (p= 0.036) and education (p=0.022), oral health status: no visible cavities (p<0.001), sore gums (p=0.005), three or more visible cavities (p<0.001), and soft tissue injuries (p= 0.005). Conclusion: Quality of life was shown to be influenced by oral health status, although many interviewees reported having a good quality of life.

10.22161/ijaers.75.20