Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec 4:13:513-520.
doi: 10.2147/CCIDE.S340579. eCollection 2021.

Oral Health and Patterns of Dental Visits Among Diabetic Patients in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Ahmad Mohammed AlTuraiki  1 , Hamed Mohammed Jaemal  1 , Ali Ameen Alamer  1 , Ali Ahmed Alghwainem  1 , Thabet Abdulaziz Althabit  1 , Abdulaziz Alamri  2 , Muhammad Ashraf Nazir  2
Affiliations

Oral Health and Patterns of Dental Visits Among Diabetic Patients in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Ahmad Mohammed AlTuraiki et al. Clin Cosmet Investig Dent. .

Abstract

Purpose: Diabetes is a big public health threat in Saudi Arabia. However, there is limited evidence about dental problems, oral hygiene practices, and dental visits among diabetic patients. The study aimed to evaluate self-perceived oral health status and patterns of dental attendance among diabetic patients in the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study included 486 diabetic patients (mean age 50.14±13.59 years) registered with the Saudi Diabetes Society, Saudi Arabia (October-November 2020). The World Health Organization's oral health questionnaire for adults was administered to collect information about oral health status, oral hygiene practices, and dental attendance, in addition to sociodemographic data. Descriptive and analytical statistics were performed.

Results: Most participants (66.3%) reported having dental pain or discomfort during the last year. Bad breath (60.50%), tooth cavities (55.10%), difficulty in biting hard food (55.10%), tooth sensitivity (53.30%), and bleeding gums (52.90%) were common oral problems among participants. More than half the sample (55.1%) reported visiting the dental office during the last year. However, pain or trouble with teeth, gums or mouth was the most common (40.5%) reason for the last dental visit. Only 7.8% of participants visited the dentist for a routine dental check-up. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that Saudi nationality (AOR 2.68, P 0.008), family history of diabetes (AOR 1.88, P 0.022), and having pain during the last year (AOR 4.01, P <0.001) were the significant factors associated with the last dental visit due to pain.

Conclusion: This sample of participants demonstrated a high prevalence of dental problems. Few participants performed routine dental visits and most visits were due to pain. Saudis and patients with family history of diabetes and dental pain were more likely to perform pain related dental visits. Multidisciplinary efforts are needed to develop and implement preventive educational and clinical care models for positive oral and general health outcomes.

Keywords: access to oral care; dental problems; diabetes; oral health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of participants’ responses about the self-perceived oral problems.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of participants’ responses about sources of oral health instructions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Alam U, Asghar O, Azmi S, Malik RA. General aspects of diabetes mellitus. Handb Clin Neurol. 2014;126:211–222. - PubMed
    1. Whiting DR, Guariguata L, Weil C, Shaw J. IDF diabetes atlas: global estimates of the prevalence of diabetes for 2011 and 2030. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2011;94(3):311–321. doi:10.1016/j.diabres.2011.10.029 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Global Report on Diabetes. World Health Organization; 2016.
    1. Syrjala AM, Kneckt MC, Knuuttila ML. Dental self-efficacy as a determinant to oral health behaviour, oral hygiene and HbA1c level among diabetic patients. J Clin Periodontol. 1999;26(9):616–621. doi:10.1034/j.1600-051X.1999.260909.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nagarajappa R, Sahare P, Shukla N, Tuteja J, Bhalla A. Knowledge, attitude and practices regarding oral health among out patients at Rama dental college, Kanpur. Rama Univ J Dent Sci. 2015;2(1):8–14.