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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oral. Health
Sec. Oral Health Promotion
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/froh.2024.1431726
This article is part of the Research Topic Oral Health and Quality of Life in Vulnerable Populations View all articles

Assessing the impact of oral health disease on quality of life in Ecuador: A mixed-methods study

Provisionally accepted
Nupur Krishnan Nupur Krishnan 1Karem Manresa-Cumarin Karem Manresa-Cumarin 2,3Jessica Klabak Jessica Klabak 3Greg Krupa Greg Krupa 3Priyanka Gudsoorkar Priyanka Gudsoorkar 3,4*
  • 1 Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
  • 2 University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States
  • 3 Solidarity Dental Foundation, Quito, Pichincha, Ecuador
  • 4 College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Globally, oral health diseases surpass all other non-communicable diseases in prevalence; however, they are not well studied in underserved regions, where accessibility to dental services and oral health education is disparately worse. In Ecuador, further research is needed to understand such disparities better. We aimed to assess the effect of oral health disease on individuals’ quality of life and how social disparities and cultural beliefs shape this. Individuals 18 or older receiving care at mobile or worksite clinics from May to October 2023 were included. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews, Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL) measures, and extra-oral photographs (EOP). The sample (n=528) included mostly females (56.25%) with a mean age of 34.4±9.44. Most participants (88.26%) reported brushing at least twice daily, and less than 5% reported flossing at least once per day. The median OHRQoL score was 4 (min-max), significantly higher among individuals ≥40 years old, holding high school degrees, or not brushing or flossing regularly (p<0.05). Identified barriers to good oral health included affordability, time, and forgetfulness. Participants not receiving care with a consistent provider reported fear as an additional barrier. Participants receiving worksite dental services reported these barriers to be alleviated. Dental providers were the primary source of oral hygiene education. Most participants reported oral health concerns, most commonly pain, decay, dysphagia, and halitosis - consistent with EOP analysis. Findings underscore a need for multi-level interventions to advance oral health equity.

    Keywords: oral health quality of life, Oral health disparities, oral health promotion, oral health disease, social determinants of health, barriers to oral health

    Received: 12 May 2024; Accepted: 24 Jun 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Krishnan, Manresa-Cumarin, Klabak, Krupa and Gudsoorkar. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Priyanka Gudsoorkar, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267, Ohio, United States

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.