Factors associated with oral health care behavior of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A hospital-based, cross-sectional study

Background Oral healthcare behavior determines oral health status and the incidence of oral diseases. People with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are at-risk of having low oral healthcare behavior and disease-related oral health. Objective To investigate the oral health status and factors associated with oral healthcare behavior among people with T2DM in Thailand. Methods In total, 401 people with T2DM participated in the study based on their attendance at a non-communicable disease clinic at sub-district health promotion hospitals in Bueng Kan, a north-eastern province in Thailand. A structured questionnaire was used to obtain variables of interest. Linear regression analysis at the 95% confidence interval (CI) was applied. Results The majority of participants were female (73.8%). More than three-quarters had more than 20 permanent teeth (77.6%), a decay missing filling tooth index was 10.6 teeth/person. Many participants had four permanent occlusal pairs (69.6%), had tooth decay (74.6%), and some participants had tooth filling (32.2%). Statistically significant factors associated with oral healthcare behavior were: having complications associated with diabetes mellitus (Beta = -0.097, 95%CI = -1.653, -0.046), oral health literacy (Beta = 0.119, 95%CI = 0.009, 0.150), educational level (Beta = 0.123, 95%CI = 0.103, 0.949), oral healthcare attitude (Beta = 0.258, 95%CI = 0.143, 0.333), and oral health services (Beta = 0.430, 95%CI = 0.298, 1.408). Conclusions People with T2DM had good oral health status. People with T2DM with low oral health literacy, low attitude, and low level of oral health services were at a higher risk of poor oral healthcare behavior.