OIDP and Perceived Health Status in a Western Cape Population

Objectives: The study set out to record perceptions of health and oral health, and to record the Oral Impact on Daily Performance (OIDP) for a range of oral conditions in terms of their prevalence, frequency and severity of impact in a Western Cape population. Methods: A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 194 subjects from eight different sites stratified by age, gender, location (rural/urban) and socio-economic status. Perceived health status was ranked using a set of Likert scales. Results: Perceived general health status was greater with age, with 67% of 12 year olds expressing a positive perception of their health, while 85% of adults held this opinion. In all age groups oral health was felt to be worse than their general health, with 46% and 79% of the sample expressing a positive perception. Oral diseases and their symptoms had their greatest impact on the ability of people to eat, to clean their teeth and on sleeping, with statistically significant differences in these impacts by socio-economic status. The OIDP impact upon eating was significantly associated with their perceived oral health status. Levels of satisfaction with oral health increased substantially as the levels of active caries diminished across the scale. Conclusions: The association between perceived health, actual health status, OIDP and social class is significant. The OIDP and perceived health status measures, serve as reliable indicators of priority oral health conditions across the divisions of demography and social class.

This pilot study was funded by NIH, grant number R21 DEO13704-01.