Resumen

BANDEZI, Y  y  SINGH, S. Oral health care and edentulism: perspectives of patients attending public health clinics in Harry Gwala and eThekwini districts, KwaZulu-Natal. S. Afr. dent. j. [online]. 2026, vol.81, n.2, pp.68-74. ISSN 0375-1562.  https://doi.org/10.17159/sadj.v81i02.22833.

INTRODUCTION: Maintaining oral health is vital for overall well-being, and offering dental care services is a crucial part of public healthcare systems globally. A significant portion of South African population faces socioeconomic barriers to accessing private oral health services resulting in dependency on public oral health services. However, not much is known of patients' experiences in accessing such care in these facilities. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To determine perspectives of public health recipients on oral health care, the nature of edentulism and impact of edentulism in Harry Gwala and eThekwini districts, KwaZulu-Natal. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive research design. METHODS: A systematic sampling technique was employed to select participants that attended the public health facilities (n=810). The total sample was stratified according to urban, peri-urban and rural public health facilities deriving five sub-populations of (n=162). Data was collected using a questionnaire that was derived from the WHO Oral Health Surveys guidelines. Data was analysed using R Statistical computing software of the R Core Team, 2020, version 3.6.3. Descriptive statistics were applied for numerical measurements and categorical variables were described as counts and percentage frequencies. RESULTS: A total of 770 out of 810 patients consented to participate in the study with a 95% response rate, of which 73.9% were female (p=0.016). The majority of participants were between the ages of 30 to 50 (n=396; 47.9%). Pain from teeth and gums were reported by the majority of patients (n=509; 70.2%) as the reasons for visiting a dentist. The majority of the patients (n=449; 76.4%), indicated that they accessed public oral facilities and 80.9% of responses came from rural participants (n=267). All age groups reported having missing teeth (between 1-9 teeth lost) with participants aged 30 to 50 representing the majority (n=280; 75.9%). Participants identified the following reasons to replace missing teeth: difficulty to chew food (n=456 majority being 50 years and above (43%), difficulty smiling (n=95) majority being 30 years and below (62%), feelings of embarrassment (n=97) majority being 30 years and below (62%), limited consumption of food (n=460) majority being 50 years and above (44%), and being made fun of by people (n=74) majority being 30 to 50 years (52%). CONCLUSION: This study found that both psychological and functional impacts of edentulism were reported as the reasons why most patients indicated their need to replace their missing teeth. The study findings suggested that participants in rural settings reported poor access to facility-based oral health care and that pain was the major reason for seeking care.

Palabras clave : Public oral health; edentulism; tooth loss; oral health-related quality of life; dental care; oral health access; social justice; oral health services.

        · texto en Inglés     · Inglés ( pdf )