Assessment of the association between dentate status and self-rated general health

OBJECTIVE: Aiming at preparing the basis for evidence-based dental public health policy making in Slovenia, the objective of the study was to assess the strength of association between oral health status measured by the number of missing teeth and self-rated health (SRH). METHODS: The study was designed as a pooled individual-level data study from four national cross-sectional studies carried out in the period 2001-2012, based on CINDI Health Monitor methodology. Altogether, 34,412 participants were included. A logistic regression model with poor SRH as observed outcome and the number of teeth as explanatory factor (adjusted for selected biologic, socio-economic and health factors) was proposed. RESULTS: In the sample, women represented 55.7% and men 44.3%, median age was 45 years. Persons with more missing teeth more likely rated their health as poor. The association was persistent even when different confounding variables were included in the model. In the group with 1-5 missing teeth, in comparison to the group with none missing teeth, OR was 1.23 (p=0.049), whereas for the group with 6-10 missing teeth, OR was 1.32 (p=0.019); for the group with >10 missing teeth, but not all, OR was 1.77 (p<0.001), and for the group with all missing teeth, OR was 2.19 (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Study results showed clear association of SRH with dentate status, which confirms the oral-general health connection. This indicates the need for the development of proper dental public health policies for better oral health, and presents a new view on the importance of preserving teeth.