Page 118 - Petelin, Ana. 2024. Ed. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | Health of the Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik prispevkov z recenzijo | Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press

proportion of adults in Slovenia rate their oral health negatively, which
is a major problem. Given the observed prevalence of negative self-
assessment of oral health, it can be estimated that in addition to the
more than 117,000 people who rate their oral health negatively, there
are also more than 480,000 who rate their oral health as »fair«. It can
be assumed that they occasionally have problems with their oral health.
The proportion of people who rate their oral health negatively is higher
among men, people over the age of 44, people with a lower level of
education (mainly primary education) and people living in rural areas.
These groups can be considered particularly vulnerable in terms of oral
health. Adequate oral health care plays a key role in maintaining and
strengthening oral health. Inadequate frequency of tooth brushing and
irregular visits to the dentist lead to the development of oral diseases,
pain, discomfort and ultimately tooth loss with all its consequences.
These are also the groups on which preventive measures should be
focused in the future.
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Keywords: oral health, oral health self-assessment, dental health surveys,
zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | health of working-age and older adults
oral hygiene, oral health care

Introduction
Oral health is an integral part of general health and has a significant impact on
an individual’s quality of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines
oral health as the state of the mouth, teeth and orofacial structures that ena-
bles individuals to perform essential functions such as eating, breathing and
speaking, and encompasses psychosocial dimensions such as self-confidence,
well-being and the ability to socialise and work without pain, discomfort and
embarrassment (WHO, 2024). This definition indirectly reflects the broader
definition of health, which includes physical, mental and social well-being. The
understanding and approach to oral health has evolved over time. In the past,
oral health was seen as a separate and independent aspect from general health,
with diseases of the oral cavity primarily associated with impaired chewing
function. Today, however, oral health is seen as an inseparable part of general
health, with the psychological and social dimension increasingly recognised.
Individuals assess their health on the basis of their culture, their per-
ception of health, but also on the basis of their experiences, expectations and
the environment in which they live and work (Jylhä, 2009). Although self-rat-
ed health is essentially a subjective judgement, research shows that it also re-
flects objective health status, making it a very suitable indicator for measur-
ing health at a global level (Wu et al., 2003). In addition, this indicator serves
as a good predictor of future health outcomes and hospitalisations in patients
with heart failure (Benyamini et al., 2004; Farkas et al., 2009). Self-assessment
of oral health is a similar indicator that focuses on and summarises a person’s
subjective level of oral health. It has an independent effect from the self-as-
sessment of general health, and both self-assessments independently influence