Factors Affecting Self-ratings of Oral Health |
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| Authors: | Ruth E. Matthias,PhD, Kathryn A. Atchison,DDS,MPH, James E. Lubben,DSW, Fred De,Jong,PhD Stuart O. Schweitzer,PhD |
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| Affiliation: | Drs. Matthias and Lubben are at the School of Public Policy and Social Research, Dr. Atchison is with the School of Dentistry, and Dr. Schweitzer is with the School of Public Health, all at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. De Jong is with the Schools of Social Welfare and Gerontology, University of Southern California. Interpretations of the data are the authors' own and do not necessarily represent the official opinion of the Health Care Financing Authority. |
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| Abstract: | ![]()
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of self-rated oral health to a comprehensive battery of clinical, sociodemographic, physical health, and mental health measures in a well-elderly urban population. Methods : Results are based on telephone interviews and clinical assessments of 550 subjects over 65 years of age participating in a Los Angeles-based Medicare project during 1990. Subjects were mostly female, white (89%), with above-average income. Results : Findings show that: (1) the DMF measure is not as strongly related to self-rated oral health as was a single measure of missing teeth; (2) the major predictors of self-rated oral health were "worry about teeth" and "appearance of teeth" followed by total missing teeth, race, education, and depression scores; and (3) self-rated general health is related to self-rated oral health. Conclusion : Self-rated oral health may be, for older adults, a better measure of "health" than of "morbidity." |
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| Keywords: | patient ratings of dental health oral health status geriatric dentistry |
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