Distal and Proximal Influences on Self-Reported Oral Pain and Self Rated Oral Health Status in Saudi Arabia, 2017

Abstract

Although complex phenomena such as oral diseases can be studied using generalizable conceptual frameworks, the differences in the underlying influences across countries necessitate adaptation of existing oral health frameworks to the specific conditions in each country. The aim of this dissertation was to investigate distal (indirect) and proximal (direct) influences of oral health and their interactions with both self-reported oral pain (OP) and self-rated oral health status (SROH) in Saudi Arabia (SA). Two secondary data analyses were conducted utilizing data from the national demographic and health survey (DHS) of SA in 2017. The objective of the first study was to describe the study design, and the distal and proximal influences reported in the 2017 SA DHS. The objective of second study was to explore associations between proximal and distal factors that affect OP and SROH, using the adapted framework. Path analysis modeling was used to estimate direct, indirect, and total effects. The 2017 SA DHS used an innovative multistage stratified random-sampling technique to select the population sample by using primary health care centers’ catchment areas as the primary sampling unit. The final analysis included 29,274 adults, 9910 adolescents, and 11653 children. OP in the past year was experienced in 39% in children and, 48.5% for the adolescents, and 47.1% in adults. The proportion of respondents who reported good, very good, or excellent self-rated oral health status was 92.9 % in children, 87.1% in both adolescents and adults. In children group, OP was linked to less tooth brushing, more dental visits and less dental routine examination, while less favorable SROH was linked to less tooth brushing, more dental visits and sweets consumption. In adolescents and adults groups, OP and less favorable SROH were linked to more dental visits, complaint dental visits, less tooth brushing. Many distal influences showed significant effects (direct, indirect, and total) on OP and SROH; however, differences existed among the three age groups. The studies suggest that future investigations should focus on why Saudi residents perceive their oral health positively while the prevalence of negative oral health influences and OP was high.