Socioeconomic status, periodontitis severity, and oral health literacy toward oral health-related quality of life among Indonesian adults with periodontitis: an exploratory cross-sectional study

Periodontitis adversely impacts Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL), but the relative contributions of clinical severity, socioeconomic status (SES), treatment status, and sociodemographic factors remain insufficiently defined. This study aimed to evaluate differences in OHRQoL (OHIP-14) across periodontitis stages, SES levels, and treatment statuses, and to determine its correlation with Oral Health Literacy (OHL) and sociodemographic characteristics (age, marital status) in Indonesia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 57 periodontitis patients at the Dental Teaching Hospital, Universitas Indonesia. Clinical severity was staged (I–IV) according to 2017 World Workshop criteria. OHRQoL, OHL, SES, treatment status (treated vs. untreated), and sociodemographics were assessed via validated questionnaires. Differences in OHIP-14 scores across stages, SES, and treatment groups were analyzed using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests. Correlations between OHIP-14, OHL, age, and marital status were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26. OHIP-14 scores showed no statistically significant differences across periodontitis stages ( p = 0.769), SES levels ( p = 0.681), and treatment status ( p = 0.986). Spearman correlation revealed a significant negative correlation between total OHL and OHIP-14 scores (ρ=−0.284, p = 0.032). Within the limitations of this exploratory study, while periodontitis severity stage, SES, and treatment status were not significantly associated with OHRQoL in this sample. Clinical management should integrate oral health literacy promotion alongside standard periodontal interventions. Further, larger studies with more balanced socioeconomic groups are needed.