Association Between Self-Perceived Oral Health and Clinical Indicators

Purpose: To determine whether self-perceived oral health impact and satisfaction measure oral health in the same way as do clinical indicators in adults and older adults. Materials and Methods: The population consisted of adult patients aged 20 to 59 years receiving care at "Juan Pablo II" Health Care Centre and older adult patients aged 60 or more years from the home for the elderly "Virgen del Amor Hermoso", Lima, Peru. The indices Oral Impacts on Daily Performance (OIDP) and Oral Satisfaction Scale of 0-10 (OSS 0-10) were used to evaluate perceived impact of and satisfaction with oral health. In addition, the following internationally validated criteria established by the World Health Organization (WHO) were used as clinical indicators: Decayed-Missing-Filled Teeth (DMFT) Index, O'Leary's Hygiene Index, Community Periodontal Index, Motivation to Hygiene Index, Denture Situation Index, Need for Denture Index, Denture Hygiene Index and Oral Mucosal Lesion Index. Results: Forty-four adults and 53 older adults participated. OIDP showed that the greatest perceived difficulty in daily performance was "eating and enjoying food" (adults: 77.3% and older adults: 79.2%). The OSS 0-10 showed that among adults, 43.1% were dissatisfied, 20.5% were neutral and 36.4% were satisfied, while among older adults, 45.3% were dissatisfied, 22.6% were neutral and 32.1% were satisfied. A statistically significant association was found between OSS 0-10 and 1. DMFT index in adults; 2. upper denture situation in older adults; and 3. denture hygiene in older adults. A highly significant inverse linear correlation was found between OIDP and OSS 0-10 in adults and older adults. Conclusion: The perceived impact of oral health does not have a demonstrable association with oral health problems when used as an instrument for measuring oral health status, whereas perceived satisfaction with oral health has a better association with the clinical indicators. Keywords: oral health, perception, quality of life