Association between oral health knowledge, perceived oral health related quality of life, perceived oral health status and emergency department and/or urgent care visit: Results from the multi-site oral health literacy study.

Objectives: To assess the link between oral health knowledge (OHK), self-perceived oral health, and emergency room (ER)/urgent care utilization for a dental problem.

Methods: Data were analyzed from a convenience sample of 790 adult participants who presented to two US dental schools and completed an interviewer-administered survey. Key independent variables were OHK assessed with the Comprehensive Measure of Oral Health Knowledge (CMOHK) instrument, self-perceived oral health status and quality of life determined using the General Oral Health Assessment Index (GOHAI) scores. The dependent variable was ER and/or urgent care utilization for a dental problem. Select sociodemographic variables such as age and gender were adjusted for in logistic regression models using SAS.

Results: 15.7% of the participants had ever visited an ER and/or urgent care for a dental problem. CMOHK scores were not significantly associated with visits to the ER and/or urgent care. In adjusted analysis, participants with unfavorable GOHAI scores were about three times as likely to have had an ER and/or urgent care visit (OR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.66-4.09). Similarly, participants who were unsatisfied with their oral health were about twice as likely to have had an ER and/or urgent care visit (OR = 1.91, 95% CI: 1.21-3.00) as compared to those satisfied with their oral health status.

Conclusion: Individuals unsatisfied with their oral health and those with unfavorable perceived oral health related quality of life could benefit from a greater awareness of dental service availability and extended hours including weekend hours at public dental clinics.