Do undergraduate Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) students with adequate oral health literacy have better oral health status?

Abstract

Oral health literacy is the ability of an individual in making an appropriate decision to achieve optimum oral health. This study aimed to assess the oral health literacy and oral health status of undergraduate university students. This is a cross sectional study conducted among students from various faculties in USIM. A written consent was obtained before the administration of OHLI-M questionnaire via Google form. Oral examination was conducted after completing the questionnaire. A descriptive data analysis was performed to determine the adequacy of oral health literacy and oral health status among the students. A total of 280 students participated in this study. The mean age was 22 years old (SD=1.17) with the majority of them being female (82.1%) and coming from urban residences (57.1%). The prevalence of dental caries and periodontal disease was 58.9% (95% CI= 53.2 to 64.6) and 13.2% (95% CI= 9.6 to 17.1) respectively. Students with adequate oral health literacy had better oral health status. Those with inadequate oral health literacy had a high percentage of dental caries.