{
  "abstract": "Background: To estimate the prevalence of dental self-medication (D-SM), characterize its patterns, and identify associated sociodemographic and care-seeking factors among adults attending a university periodontology clinic in Türkiye.\n\nMethods: This cross-sectional study included 253 adult patients who attended the Periodontology Clinic at the Uşak University Faculty of Dentistry. Data were collected using a 27-item structured questionnaire that assessed sociodemographic characteristics, oral health behaviors, D-SM practices, clinical triggers, and disclosure of D-SM to dentists. As participants were recruited consecutively from a single university periodontology clinic, the sample represents a specific clinical population rather than the general adult population.\n\nResults: Overall, 24.1% of participants reported D-SM. The most common reason for D-SM was difficulty obtaining a dental appointment (26.2%), with toothache being the main clinical trigger (73.8%). Among those practicing D-SM, 75.4% initially used pharmacological agents, mainly analgesics; among these pharmacological-agent users, antibiotic use was reported by 10.9%. In the multivariable model, employment in a non-health sector (aOR = 3.65, 95% CI: 1.49–8.94), employment in a health-related sector (aOR = 3.30, 95% CI: 1.12–9.75), a non-dentist first point of contact (aOR = 6.82, 95% CI: 2.49–18.72), and non-prescription medication use for dental problems within the previous 6 months (aOR = 2.92, 95% CI: 1.42–6.03) were associated with D-SM. Additionally, 59.0% of self-medicating participants did not disclose this behavior to their dentists.\n\nConclusion: Among adults attending a university periodontology clinic, D-SM was reported by approximately one in four participants and was predominantly symptom-driven. In the adjusted model, occupational status, a non-dentist first point of contact, and recent non-prescription medication use were associated with D-SM. These patterns describe this specific clinic-based population and are not generalizable to the wider adult population. The findings support incorporating questions about non-prescription and herbal product use into routine dental history-taking and strengthening rational medication-use education, including guidance on the cautious use of online health information.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 2,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Fatih Karaaslan"
    },
    {
      "name": "Nihan Bulak"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6dnqezm716g8s.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12889-026-30150-0",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "6dnqezm716g8s",
  "issns": [
    "1471-2458"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-026-30150-0",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-29",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6dnqezm716g8s.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:54Z",
      "native_id": "10.1186/s12889-026-30150-0",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-026-30150-0"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "issn:1471-2458",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Dental self-medication among adults attending a university periodontology clinic in Türkiye: prevalence, patterns, and associated factors",
  "title_text": "Dental self-medication among adults attending a university periodontology clinic in Türkiye: prevalence, patterns, and associated factors",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-31T00:21:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/6dnqezm716g8s",
  "venue": "BMC Public Health",
  "versions": []
}