The Association Between Oral Health Literacy and Failed Appointments in Adults Attending a University-based General Dental Clinic

Overview

Journal Community Dent Oral Epidemiol

Date 2013 Dec 31

PMID 24372282

Citations 31

Authors

Jennifer S Holtzman

Kathryn A Atchison

Melanie W Gironda

Rebecca Radbod

Jeffrey Gornbein

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the association between personal characteristics, a person's oral health literacy, and failing to show for dental appointments at a university dental clinic.

Methods: A secondary data analysis was conducted on data collected from 200 adults at a university dental clinic between January 2005 and December 2006. In the original study, an oral health literacy instrument, the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine and Dentistry (REALM-D), was administered, sociodemographic and health information seeking behavior was gathered, and electronic records were reviewed.

Results: Descriptive and bivariate analyses and a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis were conducted. Seeking health information through fewer sources vs. multiple sources was the strongest predictor of failing to show. The subjects' oral health literacy, as measured by the REALM-D List 3 score, was the next most significant variable. Classification and regression tree analyses also selected gender, chief complaint, age, and payment type as predictor variables.

Conclusions: Multiple factors contribute to failing to show for dental appointments. However, individuals who use fewer sources of oral health information, a subset of health literacy skills, are more likely to fail to show for dental appointments.

Citing Articles

Oral Health Literacy and Tooth Loss and Replacement in Older Adults at a University Dental Clinic in Colombia.

Mafla A, Herrera-Lopez M, Dorado-Pantoja G, Lopez-Ruano K, Saa-Valentierra L, Gallardo-Pino C Health Lit Res Pract. 2024; 8(1):e21-e28.

PMID: 38329842 PMC: 10849777. DOI: 10.3928/24748307-20240121-01.

Oral Health Strategies: Surveying the Present to Plan the Future of Community-Based Learning.

Veiga N, Couto P, Correia P, Mello-Moura A, Lopes P, Correia M Healthcare (Basel). 2023; 11(19).

PMID: 37830683 PMC: 10572574. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11192646.

Defining the Connotations of Oral Health Literacy Using the Conceptual Composition Method.

Tian Z, Wang Y, Li Y, Lu J, Song L, Ding L Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(4).

PMID: 36834212 PMC: 9960088. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20043518.

Association between clinical oral health status and perceived oral health in different age groups.

Fahim A, Mahmood R, Haider I, Luqman M, Ikhlaq I, Mahmood T PeerJ. 2022; 10:e14152.

PMID: 36213513 PMC: 9536301. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14152.

A psychometric network perspective to oral health literacy: Examining the replicability of network properties across the general community and older adults from Brazil.

Soares G, Bado F, Tenani C, Ribeiro Santiago P, Jamieson L, Mialhe F J Public Health Dent. 2022; 82(3):321-329.

PMID: 35836363 PMC: 9545626. DOI: 10.1111/jphd.12539.

References

STARR P, Heiserman K . Factors associated with missed appointments of patients in a cleft lip and palate clinic. Cleft Palate J. 1975; 12:461-4. View

Rodd H, Clark E, Stern M, Baker S . Failed attendances at hospital dental clinics among young patients with cleft lip and palate. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2007; 44(1):92-4. DOI: 10.1597/05-162. View

Bos A, Hoogstraten J, Prahl-Andersen B . Failed appointments in an orthodontic clinic. Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2005; 127(3):355-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2004.11.014. View

Hallberg U, Camling E, Zickert I, Robertson A, Berggren U . Dental appointment no-shows: why do some parents fail to take their children to the dentist?. Int J Paediatr Dent. 2007; 18(1):27-34. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-263X.2007.00867.x. View

Heidmann J, Christensen L . Immigrants and a public oral health care service for children in Denmark. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 1985; 13(3):125-7. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1985.tb00425.x. View

Richman J, Lee J, Rozier R, Gong D, Pahel B, Vann Jr W . Evaluation of a word recognition instrument to test health literacy in dentistry: the REALD-99. J Public Health Dent. 2007; 67(2):99-104. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2007.00022.x. View

Herrick J, Gilhooly M, GEDDES D . Non-attendance at periodontal clinics: forgetting and administrative failure. J Dent. 1994; 22(5):307-9. DOI: 10.1016/0300-5712(94)90068-x. View

. The invisible barrier: literacy and its relationship with oral health. A report of a workgroup sponsored by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Health, U.S. Public Health Service, Department of Health.... J Public Health Dent. 2005; 65(3):174-82. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2005.tb02808.x. View

Pleasant A, McKinney J, Rikard R . Health literacy measurement: a proposed research agenda. J Health Commun. 2011; 16 Suppl 3:11-21. DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2011.604392. View

10.

Casaverde N, Douglass J . The effect of care coordination on pediatric dental patient attendance. J Dent Child (Chic). 2008; 74(2):124-9. View

11.

Valerio M, Kanjirath P, Klausner C, Peters M . A qualitative examination of patient awareness and understanding of type 2 diabetes and oral health care needs. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2011; 93(2):159-165. DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2011.03.034. View

12.

Miller E, Lee J, DeWalt D, Vann Jr W . Impact of caregiver literacy on children's oral health outcomes. Pediatrics. 2010; 126(1):107-14. PMC: 2896459. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-2887. View

13.

Berkman N, Sheridan S, Donahue K, Halpern D, Crotty K . Low health literacy and health outcomes: an updated systematic review. Ann Intern Med. 2011; 155(2):97-107. DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-155-2-201107190-00005. View

14.

Sabbahi D, Lawrence H, Limeback H, Rootman I . Development and evaluation of an oral health literacy instrument for adults. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol. 2009; 37(5):451-62. DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0528.2009.00490.x. View

15.

Atchison K, Gironda M, Messadi D, Der-Martirosian C . Screening for oral health literacy in an urban dental clinic. J Public Health Dent. 2010; 70(4):269-75. PMC: 3661197. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.2010.00181.x. View

16.

Almog D, Devries J, Borrelli J, Kopycka-Kedzierawski D . The reduction of broken appointment rates through an automated appointment confirmation system. J Dent Educ. 2003; 67(9):1016-22. View

17.

Richardson A . Failed appointments in an academic orthodontic clinic. Br Dent J. 1998; 184(12):612-5. DOI: 10.1038/sj.bdj.4809709. View

18.

Atchison K, Black E, Leathers R, Belin T, Abrego M, Gironda M . A qualitative report of patient problems and postoperative instructions. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2005; 63(4):449-56. PMC: 3920652. DOI: 10.1016/j.joms.2004.07.019. View

19.

Iben P, Kanellis M, Warren J . Appointment-keeping behavior of Medicaid-enrolled pediatric dental patients in eastern Iowa. Pediatr Dent. 2000; 22(4):325-9. View

20.

Cohen A, Weinstein P, Wurster C . The effects of patient-initiated phone confirmation strategies on appointment keeping at a hospital dental clinic. J Public Health Dent. 1980; 40(1):64-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-7325.1980.tb01850.x. View