Factors influencing perception of oral health among adolescents in Sri Lanka.
OBJECTIVE
To determine factors associated with perceived oral health status among adolescents in Sri Lanka.


METHODS
A descriptive, cross-sectional study where the data were collected by means of an oral examination and questionnaires to both children and their parents.


METHODS
Schools in the Colombo district, Sri Lanka.


METHODS
1,218, 15-year-old adolescents who were selected from 48 schools using a stratified cluster sampling techniques.


RESULTS
Nearly 21% of the sample rated their oral health as poor. According to the hierarchical logistic regression models the percentage of variance in perceived oral health explained by the four groups of independent variables namely: socio-demographic variables, oral health behaviours, clinical oral health indicators and subjective measures of oral health status were 3, 1, 4 and 7% respectively. The final model indicated that poor perceived oral health was significantly associated with low household income, not using dental services, presence of gingivitis, being aware about the presence of oral disease, presence of toothache and other oral symptoms and perceived need for dental care. It accounted for 15% of the variation in perceived oral health.


CONCLUSIONS
Subjective measures of oral health contributed most to the single-item perceived oral health rating of adolescents. Socio-demographic variables and normative measures of untreated caries, missing teeth and gingivitis had a limited role in explaining perceived oral health in Sri Lankan adolescents.
Perera
Irosha
I
Department of Community Dental Health, Faculty of Dental Sciences, University of Peradeniya, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Ekanayake
Lilani
L
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000145:classification; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000145:classification; D006304:Health Status; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D012649:Self Concept; D012923:Social Class; D013188:Sri Lanka; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000145:classification; D014098:Toothache / Q000145:classification