Association between oral hygiene knowledge and practices among older dental patients attending private dental clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: Ensuring optimal oral hygiene is crucial for preserving the well-being of hard and soft tissues within the oral system. A lack of proper oral hygiene can have a detrimental impact on an individual's health, leading to conditions such as caries and periodontitis. Therefore, this study investigated the association between the knowledge and practices of older patients in oral hygiene in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 111 older patients who presented at purposively selected dental clinics in Addis Ababa. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit study participants. The data were collected using a pretested structured questionnaire. The questionnaire included information related to the patient's knowledge and practices related to oral hygiene. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate the associations between independent and dependent variables. Adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were estimated, and variables with a p value < 0.05 in the multivariate analysis were considered significant. Results: The median age of the study participants was 70.31 years (65-100). Inadequate oral hygiene knowledge was found in 53.15% of the participants, while more than three-quarters (83.78%) of the older participants practiced poor oral hygiene. Older patients with good oral hygiene knowledge were 7.6 times more likely to practice good oral hygiene practices (AOR, 7.6; 95% CI (2.05-27.9)). Conclusions: Poor oral health is significantly associated with various health problems, particularly in older people. This study examined the relationship between oral health knowledge and practices in older dental patients and revealed insufficient knowledge and practices among participants. The results showed a notable link between oral health knowledge and practices in this demographic group, highlighting the need for support to improve oral health status. Organizations should increase awareness among older patients to improve their oral health status.