Evaluating Dental Use Behavior According to Health Information Literacy

Background/Objectives: This study aimed to examine the dental use behavior according to the health information literacy among Korean adults. Methods: This study used secondary raw data from the 9th National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2023), which included 3,356 adults aged 20 years and older. Frequency analysis, cross-analysis, and logistic regression were performed (p<0.05). Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS software (ver. 22.0). Results: Using a cross-analysis to identify the relationship between health information understanding and oral examinations within the last year, statistically significant differences were confirmed for all questions (p<0.05). Table 3 shows the relationship between the understanding of health information and preventive dental treatment, particularly when using scaling (p<0.05). The higher their understanding of health information, the more likely they were to have undergone an oral examination in the previous year (1.815 times higher; p=0.003). The higher the understanding of health information regarding preventive treatment (scaling), the more likely the participant was to receive it (i.e., 2.251 times higher; p<0.001). Conclusions: Educational interventions and policy support to improve the ability to understand health information can be important strategies for promoting the practice of preventive oral health and improving oral health level in people.