A Cross-Sectional Study Assessing Saudi Population's Awareness Toward the Relationship Between Oral Health and Overall Well-Being

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2024-11, Vol.16 (11), p.e73880
• Main Authors: Bamaga, Ibraheem K, Almalki, Aseel, Alnafei, Jomanh, Alsubhi, Nouf, Sembawa, Shahinaz, Harrandah, Amani M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dentistry
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.73880

Oral health constitutes a critical component of overall health. Additionally, there is evidence of a bidirectional interaction between oral health and the progression of chronic diseases. Many chronic illnesses present oral manifestations and thus can impact oral health but conversely, oral health, particularly the presence of oral bacteria, can influence the progression of chronic diseases. Consequently, a comprehensive understanding of this relationship is essential, as it has significant implications for both oral and overall health. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of the Saudi population about oral health and its association with systemic diseases, as well as the factors that might affect this knowledge including demographics and educational level. A structured questionnaire using multiple-choice questions was developed in Arabic language and distributed among patients visiting the Dental Teaching Hospital of Umm AlQura University. An electronic version of the questionnaire was developed using Google Forms for distribution through social media outlets. The data were analyzed using SPSS, version 29 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the data, and the significance level was set at p