Association of oral health literacy with oral health behaviors, perception, knowledge, and dental treatment related outcomes: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract

The current scientific evidence suggests that no association exists between OHL and any of the outcomes investigated. Further prospective studies with a higher methodological quality are necessary to confirm the evidence.

Oral Health Literacy and Outcomes in Rural Wisconsin Adults

“…In rural Wisconsin adults, low OHL was associated with lower oral health quality of life, as observed in an other study, and seemed to be particularly influential in the context of appropriate dental care utilization in that lower OHL was significantly associated with both fewer visits to the dentist and more emergency/urgent care visits for NTDC. These findings were again consistent with the Sorensen and colleagues conceptual model of health literacy, but they are in contrast to the recent meta‐analysis that concluded no association between low OHL and visits to the dentist . This may be because participants in our study reported on the total number of dentist visits over the previous 5 years, which may have been a more sensitive outcome as compared to the more typical dental utilization metric of having seen a dentist or not in the last year.…”

“…These findings were again consistent with the Sorensen and colleagues conceptual model of health literacy, 26 but they are in contrast to the recent meta-analysis that concluded no association between low OHL and visits to the dentist. 21 This may be because participants in our study reported on the total number of dentist visits over the previous 5 years, which may have been a more sensitive outcome as compared to the more typical dental utilization metric of having seen a dentist or not in the last year. Only 1 other study has examined the association between OHL and emergency NTDC visits (conducted in a sample of Brazilian adults), 22 and our findings are similar to theirs, which relied on self-reported dental emergency visits.…”

“…20 A meta-analysis found no significant association between OHL and oral health outcomes, including dental visit frequency. 21 A recent study on this topic (not included in the prior meta-analysis), however, found low OHL was associated with more selfreported visits to the emergency room for dental care. 22 These and other findings have intimated that OHL should be considered a distinct determinant of good oral health, but that greater research resources are needed to understand it.…”

“…Associations between OHL and dental care utilization are mixed, however, as 1 study found that low OHL was not associated with recent dental visits, while another found patients with low OHL were more likely to miss their next scheduled dental appointment . A meta‐analysis found no significant association between OHL and oral health outcomes, including dental visit frequency . A recent study on this topic (not included in the prior meta‐analysis), however, found low OHL was associated with more self‐reported visits to the emergency room for dental care .…”

Oral health literacy, self‐rated oral health, and oral health‐related quality of life in Brazilian adults

“…The strengths of this research include the use of a validated instrument to measure wider aspects of OHL, such as the ability to obtain, understand, and utilize oral health information and services to make appropriate oral health-related decisions. Previous studies that have investigated associations between OHL and the same outcomes have used word-recognition instruments (15)(16)(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32). Finally, unlike most studies in this field, which have been conducted in developed countries (15), the present study was conducted in a developing country, bringing new evidence to the body of OHL research.…”