Krishnan Nupur, Manresa-Cumarin Karem, Klabak Jessica, Krupa Greg, Gudsoorkar Priyanka
Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, Chicago, IL, United States.
Front Oral Health. 2024 Jul 18;5:1431726. doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1431726. eCollection 2024.
Globally, oral health diseases surpass all other non-communicable diseases in prevalence; however, they are not well studied in underserved regions, where accessibility to dental services and oral health education is disparately worse. In Ecuador, further research is needed to understand such disparities better. We aimed to assess the effect of oral health disease on individuals' quality of life and how social disparities and cultural beliefs shape this.
Individuals 18 or older receiving care at mobile or worksite clinics from May to October 2023 were included. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) measures, and extra-oral photographs (EOP).
The sample ( = 528) included mostly females (56.25%) with a mean age of 34.4 ± 9.44. Most participants (88.26%) reported brushing at least twice daily, and less than 5% reported flossing at least once per day. The median OHRQoL score was 4 (min-max), significantly higher among individuals ≥40 years old, holding high school degrees, or not brushing or flossing regularly ( < 0.05). Identified barriers to good oral health included affordability, time, and forgetfulness. Participants not receiving care with a consistent provider reported fear as an additional barrier. Participants receiving worksite dental services reported these barriers to be alleviated. Dental providers were the primary source of oral hygiene education. Most participants reported oral health concerns, most commonly pain, decay, dysphagia, and halitosis - consistent with EOP analysis.
Findings underscore a need for multi-level interventions to advance oral health equity.
在全球范围内，口腔健康疾病的患病率超过所有其他非传染性疾病；然而，在服务不足的地区，对其研究并不充分，这些地区获得牙科服务和口腔健康教育的机会差异极大。在厄瓜多尔，需要进一步开展研究以更好地了解此类差异。我们旨在评估口腔健康疾病对个人生活质量的影响，以及社会差异和文化信仰如何塑造这种影响。
纳入2023年5月至10月在流动诊所或工作场所诊所接受治疗的18岁及以上个体。采用混合方法，包括半结构化访谈、口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQoL）测量和口外照片（EOP）。
样本（n = 528）主要为女性（56.25%），平均年龄为34.4 ± 9.44岁。大多数参与者（88.26%）报告每天至少刷牙两次，不到5%的参与者报告每天至少使用牙线一次。OHRQoL得分中位数为4（最小值 - 最大值），在40岁及以上、拥有高中学历、不定期刷牙或使用牙线的个体中显著更高（P < 0.05）。确定的良好口腔健康障碍包括可承受性、时间和健忘。未接受固定提供者护理的参与者报告恐惧是另一个障碍。接受工作场所牙科服务的参与者报告这些障碍得到缓解。牙科提供者是口腔卫生教育的主要来源。大多数参与者报告了口腔健康问题，最常见的是疼痛、龋齿、吞咽困难和口臭——与EOP分析一致。
研究结果强调需要采取多层次干预措施来促进口腔健康公平。
