A cross-sectional study on oral health-care habits and oral-health-related quality-of-life in marginalized persons in Copenhagen

Abstract

Objective

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the oral-health-related quality-of-life (OHRQoL) and oral health-care habits in a population of marginalized persons in Copenhagen.

Materials and Methods

Patients attending a dental clinic for marginalized persons filled in the 14-item version of the oral-health-impact profile (OHIP-14) regarding their OHRQoL and a questionnaire on their oral health-care habits. Age, gender, smoking habits, need for general and oral health-care, and living conditions were further registered.

Results

Of the 212 participants, 72% had not visited a dental clinic within the past two years and in 68% of the cases, the last dental visit was related to dental treatment. Tooth brushing at least once a day was reported by 93%. The mean OHIP-14 score in the participants was 24.9 (SD: 13.6). The most frequent problems were pain, chewing difficulties, being self-conscious, tense, and embarrassed as well as affected life. The mean OHIP-14 score was significantly higher in participants in need of general health-care (29.5, SD: 12.2) than in participants not in need of general health-care (22.8, SD: 13.9). The same applied to participants referred for dental treatment (26.1, SD: 12.7) compared to participants not being referred (20.2, SD: 15.9).

Conclusions

The OHRQoL is poor in the population with pain, chewing difficulties and aesthetic issues as the most prominent problems. The participants had low and treatment-oriented use of the dental care system. This indicates a high need for dental care in the population with a focus on including them in the dental care system.

Keywords:

• Vulnerable populations
• homeless persons
• oral health
• Denmark
• quality of life

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the work done by the dental hygienist in collecting data for the study and the former chief dentist, Copenhagen City, Børge Hede for setting up the data collection.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.