Background: Self-perceived oral health has been extensively investigated, but studies on homeless people are scarce, and there is currently no evidence from Latin America.
Objective: To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with satisfaction with the oral health of homeless individuals in one Brazilian capital of the Midwest region.
Subject and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 351 adult individuals attending a temporary public shelter who were interviewed about sociodemographic and psychosocial aspects, drugs use and oral health. The outcome was satisfaction with oral health (satisfied/dissatisfied). Pearson's chi-square test and Poisson regression with robust variance were used for statistical analysis.
Results: The prevalence of dissatisfaction with oral health was 68.9% (95% CI = 63.9-73.6). After adjusting for covariates, dissatisfaction was more frequent among individuals who were married/in a stable relationship (PR = 1.18; 95% CI = 1.02-1.36), with felt need for treatment (PR = 2.27; 95% CI = 1.23-4.17) or complete prosthesis (PR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.18-1.55), and those who used illicit drugs in the past six months (PR = 1.22; 95% CI = 1.06-1.39).
Conclusion: The prevalence of dissatisfaction with oral health in the homeless individuals studied was high and associated with their marital status, use of illicit drugs and self-reported need for dental treatment and complete prosthesis.
Keywords: health vulnerability; homeless persons; oral health; self-assessment.
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