Attitude and Behavior to Oral Health of 456 Patients Who Presented for Tooth Extraction at 2 Health Facilities in Southwestern Nigeria

Abstract

Introduction: Tooth loss can indicate the population’s oral health situation; majority of patients presenting for tooth extraction have poor oral health behavior and dental service utilization. Understanding the factors responsible for the poor attitude may help in designing targeted intervention to improve their oral health behavior. This study aims to find out the effects of dental health attitude and behavior on tooth mortality in a cohort of adults attending the oral surgery clinic for tooth extraction in 2 health facilities in southwestern Nigeria. Patients and Method: Cross-sectional study of consecutive adult patients who presented at the oral surgery clinic for tooth extraction. Clinical and demographic data, oral health habits, and pattern of previous dental clinic attendance were collected. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 19.0. Variables were subjected to univariate and multivariate logistic regression to evaluate factors influencing dental habit and dental service utilization. Results: The study comprised a total of 453 respondents, consisting of 239 nonattenders, 196 in-trouble attenders, and 18 regular attenders, with majority (59.4%) of them being low earners or not gainfully employed. Majority (64.8%) of the in-trouble attenders had attained tertiary education. Attendance pattern had no influence on the number of extractions needed. Conclusion: Despite high educational attainment and availability of dental services, most patients presenting for extraction have poor oral health habit and are problem-oriented attenders. Socioeconomic disparities and poor dental habits appear to be part of the major factors responsible for poor dental behavior among the study subjects.

Oral Health Behaviors and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life Among Dental Patients in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

“… 7 Socioeconomic disparities and poor oral health habits appear to be part of the major factors responsible for dental extractions. 8 Previous studies showed that the socioeconomic status of the teenagers and their parents’ oral health-related beliefs predicted their oral health-related beliefs, which in turn predicted their use of toothbrushes and dental services. Moreover, there was an association between dental service use and untreated caries and missing tooth surfaces in adulthood, and a negative correlation between the number of untreated caries and missing tooth surfaces and OHRQoL.…”

Oral health-seeking behavior among different population groups in Enugu Nigeria

“…These studies have shown that the decision to seek care through a particular process or from a particular provider is influenced by a variety of factors such as socioeconomic status (SES), sex, age, severity and type of illness, access to services and perceived quality of the service [ 6 – 8 ]. Besides, geographic location, family size, educational status, and cultural factors are influencers of oral health-seeking decisions in Nigeria [ 8 – 11 ]. The process of decision making for healthcare is complicated and might entail seeking the counsel of friends and family members, weighing potential risks and benefits, and forgoing other types of consumption that can be financed with resources used to purchase oral health care [ 11 ].…”

“…The factors that significantly affect health-seeking behavior during illness episodes and also, the utilization of the formal or informal oral healthcare facilities and self/home care remedies by individuals seeking oral health care, have been described in several studies [5][6][7]. These studies have shown that the decision to seek care through a particular process or from a particular provider is influenced by a variety of factors such as socioeconomic status (SES), sex, age, severity and type of illness, access to services and perceived quality of the service [6][7][8]. Besides, geographic location, family size, educational status, and cultural factors are influencers of oral health-seeking decisions in Nigeria [8][9][10][11].…”

Comparison of health-seeking behaviour of Malaysian adults in urban and rural areas pertaining to oral health issues: findings from the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2019

“…Numerous research [7][8][9] have discussed the variables that signi cantly in uence people's health-seeking behaviour during disease episodes, as well as how often they use formal or informal oral healthcare facilities and self-care or home remedies. These studies have demonstrated that a number of variables, including socioeconomic status, sex, age, the severity and type of illness, access to services, and perceived service quality, can affect a person's decision to seek care through a particular process or from a particular provider [8][9][10]. In addition, marital status, educational attainment, occupation, and health belief all affect decisions regarding utilising oral healthcare in Malaysia [11].…”