Oral Health in North Carolina: Relationship With General Health and Behavioral Risk Factors.

BACKGROUND: Oral health is an integral part of general health, and loss of teeth may affect both physical and mental health. We examined how an individual's perception of his or her general health is related to oral care and loss of teeth, as well as how socioeconomic and behavioral factors are related to loss of teeth and oral care. METHODS: Logistic regression was used to analyze data from the North Carolina Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey to investigate how oral health relates to general health. We examined the effects of loss of teeth and recency of dental clinic visits on perceived general health; we also examined the effects of demographic characteristics and health-related behavioral risk factors on oral health. RESULTS: Adults who had lost 6 or more teeth were more likely to report poor or fair general health, especially among those who were younger than 65 years (adjusted odds ratio = 3.59) compared to those who were 65 years or older (adjusted odds ratio = 1.87). Those who had not visited a dentist within the past year, those who had less education, those with lower incomes, and smokers were more likely to have lost 6 or more teeth. LIMITATIONS: BRFSS is a large-scale survey that collects self-reported data using random telephone methods; during the years included in this analysis, the sample included only households with landline phones that answered the survey. The measure of general health is subjective. As the BRFSS survey is a cross-sectional survey, causal relationships cannot be established. CONCLUSIONS: Loss of teeth and poor oral care are significant predictors of poor general health, indicating that oral health and oral care are integral parts of general health. Loss of teeth and oral care are affected by demographic factors such as educational attainment, income, and health-related risk factors.