Oral health literacy of Elders in Hong Kong

Abstract

Oral health literacy (OHL) is an important attribute for understanding health information that is critical in decision making. Objectives: This study investigated the OHL of elders in Hong Kong. Relationships between OHL and socio-demographic and clinical oral health parameters were explored. Methods: 127 Community-dwelling elders with a mean age of 72.3 (SD=7.4) were recruited from community centers. They were given 38 Chinese dental words to recognize. Oral hygiene level was assessed using plaque index and the number of carious, missing and filled teeth (DMFT) was recorded. Information on education level and reading habits was collected. Data were analysed using Analysis of covariance. Results: 46% of the subjects had attained secondary school education or above. About two-thirds read more than 30 minutes per day and more than 3 times per week. The mean DMFT score was 12.3 (SD=6.7) and the mean plaque index score was 0.9 (SD=0.6). They recognized a mean of 32.8 words (SD=5.5). 83 subjects (65.4%) had good score (>33 words). “Caries” (齲齒) and “amalgam” (銀汞合金) were the least recognized words. Subjects who were younger (p < 0.05), had more filled teeth (p < 0.01), lower plaque index (p < 0.05), attained secondary school education or above (p < 0.01) and read more than 30 minutes per day (p < 0.001) were found to recognize more words. Conclusions: OHL of community-dwelling elders in Hong Kong was fair. Elders who were older, attained lower education level, spent less time in reading and having worse oral health status had lower OHL level. Supported by HKU-SPF.