Oral health status and associated lifestyle behaviors among Iranian adults: a population based household survey

Background: Poor oral hygiene can lead to serious diseases, like periodontitis, tooth decay, pain and discomfort in teeth or gums, infection, and loss of teeth. In Iran, particularly adults between 50 years and older experience oral health problems, and this age group will grow the next decades. Despite increasing attention into healthy aging, there is less emphasis on oral hygiene. This survey aimed to investigate oral health status among Iranian adults. This knowledge may provide vital information to those who are planning strategies of oral health care. Method: A population-based household survey was conducted to recruit a representative sample of adults. This study was carried out among adults aged 18-65 years between May and October 2016 in Tabriz, Iran. The study population was sampled using a multi-stage cluster sampling design. The WHO’s oral health questionnaire (WHO’s OHQ) was used for measuring oral health status and oral health behavior. Results: In total, 2310 respondents completed the survey. The mean age (SD) of the participants was 41.6(23.4) years. About 48.8% of participants were male and 51.2% were female. 187(8.1%) were edentulous, and 152 (20.7%) of those participants were aged 50 to 65 years. 72.3% of the sample were dentate in that they had 20 or more teeth. Half of adults aged 50-65 years said they had 20 or more teeth. In general, about one-third of the participants reported that they don’t brush their teeth daily (23% for 18-35-year-old adults, 35.9% for 36-50-year-old adults, and 44.6% for 51- to 65-year-old adults). In our sample, 39.4% of 18-35-year-olds, 34.1% of 36-50-year-olds, and 26.6% of 51-65-year-olds had visited a dentist less than six months ago. One-third of participants eat sweets every day and frequently consume tea with sugar. Conclusion: The oral health status indicates that even though the majority of Iranian people assess their dental health positively, only a minority of participants have regular dental visits. Visits to the dentist decline by increasing age, and oral health problems increase. The study findings underline the importance of dental visits and that poor oral health may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes, particularly as age increases.