Mulatu Yemisrach, Mehdi Mohammed, Abaynew Yeshewas
Sitamin Medium Dental Clinic, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Biochemistry Department, College of Health Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BDJ Open. 2024 Jul 16;10(1):59. doi: 10.1038/s41405-024-00243-2.
Ensuring optimal oral hygiene is crucial for preserving the well-being of hard and soft tissues within the oral system. A lack of proper oral hygiene can have a detrimental impact on an individual's health, leading to conditions such as caries and periodontitis. Therefore, this study investigated the association between the knowledge and practices of older patients in oral hygiene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 111 older patients who presented at purposively selected dental clinics in Addis Ababa. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit study participants. The data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included information related to the patient's knowledge and practices related to oral hygiene. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate the associations between independent and dependent variables. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated, and variables with a p value < 0.05 in the multivariate analysis were considered significant.
The median age of the study participants was 70.31 years (65-100). Inadequate oral hygiene knowledge was found in 53.15% of the participants, while more than three-quarters (83.78%) of the older participants practiced poor oral hygiene. Older patients with good oral hygiene knowledge were 7.6 times more likely to practice good oral hygiene practices (AOR, 7.6; 95% CI (2.05-27.9)).
Poor oral health is significantly associated with various health problems, particularly in older people. This study examined the relationship between oral health knowledge and practices in older dental patients and revealed insufficient knowledge and practices among participants. The results showed a notable link between oral health knowledge and practices in this demographic group, highlighting the need for support to improve oral health status. Organizations should increase awareness among older patients to improve their oral health status.
确保最佳口腔卫生对于维护口腔系统软硬组织的健康至关重要。缺乏适当的口腔卫生会对个人健康产生不利影响，导致龋齿和牙周炎等病症。因此，本研究调查了埃塞俄比亚亚的斯亚贝巴老年患者口腔卫生知识与实践之间的关联。
对在亚的斯亚贝巴经有目的地选择的牙科诊所就诊的111名老年患者开展了一项基于机构的横断面研究。采用便利抽样方法招募研究参与者。使用预先测试的结构化问卷收集数据。该问卷包括与患者口腔卫生知识和实践相关的信息。使用SPSS 23版软件分析数据。采用描述性统计分析数据。进行多因素逻辑回归以研究自变量和因变量之间的关联。估计了调整后的比值比及95%置信区间（95%CI），多因素分析中p值<0.05的变量被视为具有统计学意义。
研究参与者的年龄中位数为70.31岁（65 - 100岁）。53.15%的参与者口腔卫生知识不足，而超过四分之三（83.78%）的老年参与者口腔卫生实践较差。口腔卫生知识良好的老年患者保持良好口腔卫生实践的可能性高7.6倍（调整后比值比，7.6；95%CI（2.05 - 27.9））。
口腔健康状况不佳与各种健康问题显著相关，尤其是在老年人中。本研究调查了老年牙科患者口腔健康知识与实践之间的关系，发现参与者的知识和实践不足。结果显示该人群口腔健康知识与实践之间存在显著关联，突出了提供支持以改善口腔健康状况的必要性。各组织应提高老年患者的认识，以改善他们的口腔健康状况。
