Illness perception amongst individuals with periodontal diseases.

OBJECTIVE: To describe illness perception among patients with periodontal diseases in relation to socio-demographic predictors, oral signs and symptoms. BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study. PARTICIPANTS: Stratified quota sample of 353 consecutive adults with periodontal diseases attending university dental clinics in Iran. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The illness perception of periodontal diseases measured using the Brief-Illness Perception Questionnaire. RESULTS: Participants' mean age was 38.7 years and 53% were female. The most frequent symptoms were tooth sensitivity, inflamed and painful gingiva, and halitosis. The symptoms that participants associated with periodontal diseases were inflamed and painful gingiva, bleeding while brushing, flossing or eating, and gingival recession. Illness perception was associated with education level, the patient's experience of periodontal symptoms, individuals' attitudes about an association between oral signs and symptoms with periodontal diseases and clinical attachment loss. CONCLUSION: Understanding how patients perceive their disease is a crucial step to motivating and engaging them in periodontal therapy and in the healthcare process.

Perceived barriers to the preservation and improvement of children's oral health among Iranian women: a qualitative study.

AIM: To explore perceptions of Iranian mothers regarding barriers to preserving and improving oral health among their children. METHODS: The present qualitative study was part of a larger sequential exploratory mixed-method study conducted in Tehran, Iran, from April to May 2015. Data were collected via 10 focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews to gain an understanding of the perception held by the mothers of school-aged children about barriers to oral health improvement. Sampling was purposive and was continued until data saturation was reached. The study population consisted of 58 Iranian women who had at least one child in school. Data were analysed using conventional content analysis. RESULTS: Three key themes of oral health barriers were identified as follows: (1) barriers in the system or at the organisational level, (2) barriers at the provider level, and (3) barriers at the family level. Informants reported cost, lack of full-coverage insurance, low access to dental services, and fear and anxiety as the main barriers. CONCLUSIONS: The major barriers to oral health care were fear and the cost of dental treatments. These predictors need to be addressed when designing programs to increase access of children to dental services.