[Self-perceived oral health among adults in Northeastern Brazil].

OBJECTIVE To identify self-perceived oral health in adults and associated variables. METHODS The study involved primary data from the Brazilian Oral Health Survey (SBBrasil) 2010 with 2,456 adults aged 35 to 44 in the Northeastern Brazil. The dependent variable was self-perceived oral health and the independent variables were grouped into four blocks: demographic, predisposing/facilitation, oral health status and those related to self-perceived need for treatment. The Rao and Scott test was used to test the association between these variables. To test the effect of the independent variables on the outcome, a multinomial logistic regression model was used according to the hierarchical model, resulting in an analysis divided into two stages: simple analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. RESULTS Positive self-perception of oral health was observed in 37% of the participants. In the final model, the features directly associated with this perception were being white, having a household income exceeding R$ 500.00, owning goods number above the median, having more sound teeth, not experiencing bleeding, not requiring prosthesis, Oral Imparcts on Daily Performances = 0, not requiring treatment, having gone to the dentist less than 3 years ago. CONCLUSIONS The results show that self-perceived oral health in adults living in the Northeast is directly associated with a multidimensional structure of factors. The poor economic conditions associated with poor clinical conditions impact heavily on this population's self-perception of oral health.