Oral Symptoms:Self-Care Strategies Used by African-Americans in Harlem

Objective: African American adults in Central Harlem, when faced with oral problems, may forego professional dental treatment and use self-care strategies to ameliorate their oral problems. To explore this, a study was conducted to investigate the strategies used to manage oral symptoms among adults living in Central Harlem. Methods: Face-to-face interviews, 60-90 minutes in length, were conducted with 118 non-Hispanic African American adults in Central Harlem obtained via a street-intercept recruitment process. All participants must have had an oral disease symptom within the past six months lasting at least two days or longer. The in-depth interview transcripts were qualitatively analyzed using content/thematic analysis. Results: Toothache (38%) and sensitivity to cold (48%) were the dental symptoms most often experienced by the respondents during the past 6 months. Participants with toothache pain were significantly more likely than those with teeth sensitive to cold to use systemic oral pain medication (e.g., Tylenol; 78% vs 48%, p = .04), to use to topical analgesics (e.g., Orajel; 56% vs. 22%, p = .02), and tended to be more likely to do things to calm themselves down (e.g., sleep, lay down; 26% vs. 4%, p = .06). Those with sensitivity to cold were significantly more likely to manage the symptom using special toothpastes, changing their eating habits, and tending to distract themselves. Use of professional care was less than 30% for both symptoms and was often the last alternative used. Conclusion: African American adults of Central Harlem applied diverse coping strategies in response to their dental symptoms; the strategies used varied by symptom type. Study findings suggest many African Americans in Harlem may be unable or unwilling to seek professional dental care, and that they may use self-care strategies in an effort to postpone or prevent the need to seek professional dental care. NIH/NIDCR grant DE015115.