FACTORS AFFECTING SELF-RATINGS OF ORAL HEALTH

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship of self-rated oral health to a comprehensive battery of clinical, soc iodemographic, physical health, and mental health measures in a well-e lderly urban population. Methods: Results are based on telephone inter views and clinical assessments of 550 subjects over 65 years of age pa rticipating in a Los Angeles-based Medicare project during 1990. Subje cts were mostly female, white (89%), with above-average income. Result s: Findings show that: (1) the DMF measure is not as strongly related to self-rated oral health as was a single measure of missing teeth; (2 ) the major predictors of self-rated oral health were ''worry about te eth'' and ''appearance of teeth'' followed by total missing teeth, rac e, education, and depression scores; and (3) self-rated general health is related to self-rated oral health. Conclusion: Self-rated oral hea lth may be, for older adults, a better measure of ''health'' than of ' 'morbidity.''