Health Literacy: A Pathway to Better Oral Health

Abstract

Objectives We examined whether health literacy was associated with self-rated oral health status and whether the relationship was mediated by patient–dentist communication and dental care patterns. Methods We tested a path model with data collected from 2 waves of telephone surveys (baseline, 2009–2010; follow-up, 2011) of individuals residing in 36 rural census tracts in northern Florida (final sample size n = 1799). Results Higher levels of health literacy were associated with better self-rated oral health status (B = 0.091; P < .001). In addition, higher levels of health literacy were associated with better patient–dentist communication, which in turn corresponded with patterns of regular dental care and better self-rated oral health (B = 0.003; P = .01). Conclusions Our study showed that, beyond the often-reported effects of gender, race, education, financial status, and access to dental care, it is also important to consider the influence of health literacy and quality of patient–dentist communication on oral health status. Improved patient–dentist communication is needed as an initial step in improving the population’s oral health.

Is Dental Utilization Associated with Oral Health Literacy?

“…The current understanding of OHL also includes cultural factors and conceptual knowledge necessary to make appropriate oral health decisions (Institute of Medicine [IOM] 2013). With consequences in both health practices and health-seeking behavior, OHL has an important role in addressing oral health problems and has been recently posited as a dimension of the causal model of early childhood caries (Guo et al 2014). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2010) developed a multiagency national action plan to improve health literacy, including OHL.…”

Oral Health Literacy Among Carers of Special Needs Children in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia

“…Several studies had also shown that OHL was associated with adults' oral health status (8)(9) as well as their children's oral health (10)(11)(12). Conversely, several studies reported that there was no association between OHL and dental utilization (13)(14).…”

“…Furthermore, other studies had used different instrument to assess OHL and also reported the relationship between OHL and other factors (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17).…”

Beck Depression Inventory-II: Factor Analyses with Three Groups of Midlife Women of African Descent in the Midwest, the South, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

“…Access to quality health care is not easily attained, and health insurance might be limited or unavailable (Miller, Kirk, Kaiser, & Glos, 2014; Thakur et al, 2014). Issues that are related to health literacy (Coughlin, Matthews-Juarez, Juarez, Melton, & King, 2014; Guo et al, 2014; James, Harville, Efunbumi, & Martin, 2014; Song et al, 2014) and cultural relevance (Coughlin et al, 2014; Craig et al, 2014) during the clinical encounter and decision-making processes (Smedley, Stith, & Nelson, 2003; United States Department of Health and Human Services Mental Health-The Office of Minority Health, 2016) might also be compromised.…”