Table of Contents

Component Description

The oral health questionnaire section (OHQ) provides personal interview data on oral health topics. These topic areas and related target population groups in the OHQ section include:

Eligible Sample

All survey participants 18 years and older were eligible for the dental health perception and quality of life related questions.

Interview Setting and Mode of Administration

The Oral Health questionnaire was done before the physical examination, in the home, using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing-CAPI (interviewer administered) system.

Quality Assurance & Quality Control

Several types of quality control were implemented to ensure that high quality data were collected during the survey.

Interviewer monitoring was a major responsibility for NCHS and contractor staff. Interviewers were frequently accompanied on interviews and observed to verify that the interview protocol was administered correctly. Interviewers were retrained on survey procedures if necessary.

The interviewers are encouraged to provide comments and other suggestions, based on their field experiences. NCHS has used field staff and interviewer feedback to improve the questionnaires and survey materials. NCHS and contractor staff conduct annual staff debriefing and training sessions jointly. Interviewers are trained on new survey content and protocol changes prior to implementation in the field.

The CAPI system is programmed with built-in consistency checks to reduce data entry errors. CAPI also uses online help screens to assist interviewers in defining key terms used in the questionnaire.

Data Processing and Editing

Frequency counts were checked, “skip” patterns were verified, and the reasonableness of responses to the questions was reviewed.

Analytic Notes

In addition to the oral health questionnaire data, oral health examination data can be found in the oral health section of the NHANES 2007–2008 Exam Files (OHX). These data may be linked using the unique survey participant identifier, SEQN. Please refer to the Oral Health Examination support documentation for additional information related to the oral component and oral health questions administered at the time of the oral health examination.

Although these data were collected as part of the household questionnaire, if they are merged with the MEC exam data, exam sample weights should be used for the analyses.

Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines on the NHANES website for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues. The Analytic Guidelines are available on the NHANES website.

Codebook and Frequencies

SEQN - Respondent sequence number

Variable Name:
SEQN
SAS Label:
Respondent sequence number
English Text:
Respondent sequence number.
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS

OHQ011 - Condition of teeth

Variable Name:
OHQ011
SAS Label:
Condition of teeth
English Text:
Now I have some questions about the condition of your teeth and gums. How would you describe the condition of {your/SP?s} teeth? Would you say . . .
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
11 Excellent 771 771
12 Very good 1052 1823
13 Good 2040 3863
14 Fair 1359 5222
15 Poor 991 6213
77 Refused 1 6214
99 Don't know 14 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ620 - How often last yr. had aching in mouth?

Variable Name:
OHQ620
SAS Label:
How often last yr. had aching in mouth?
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/ has SP) had painful aching anywhere in (your/his/her) mouth? Would you say....
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 222 222
2 Fairly often 263 485
3 Occasionally 940 1425
4 Hardly ever 1279 2704
5 Never 3522 6226
7 Refused 0 6226
9 Don't know 2 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ630 - How often felt bad because of mouth?

Variable Name:
OHQ630
SAS Label:
How often felt bad because of mouth?
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/ has SP) felt that life in general was less satisfying because of problems with (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say....
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 178 178
2 Fairly often 172 350
3 Occasionally 457 807
4 Hardly ever 630 1437
5 Never 4785 6222
7 Refused 0 6222
9 Don't know 6 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ640 - Last yr had diff w/ job because of mouth

Variable Name:
OHQ640
SAS Label:
Last yr had diff w/ job because of mouth
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/has SP) had difficulty doing (your/his/her) usual jobs or attending school because of problems with (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say...
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 61 61
2 Fairly often 61 122
3 Occasionally 167 289
4 Hardly ever 349 638
5 Never 5574 6212
7 Refused 1 6213
9 Don't know 15 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ650 - Last yr taste affected because of mouth

Variable Name:
OHQ650
SAS Label:
Last yr taste affected because of mouth
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/has SP's) sense of taste been affected by problems with (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say...
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 109 109
2 Fairly often 114 223
3 Occasionally 246 469
4 Hardly ever 318 787
5 Never 5423 6210
7 Refused 0 6210
9 Don't know 18 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ660 - Last yr avoid some food because of mouth

Variable Name:
OHQ660
SAS Label:
Last yr avoid some food because of mouth
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/has SP) avoided particular foods because of problems with (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say...
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 252 252
2 Fairly often 252 504
3 Occasionally 670 1174
4 Hardly ever 466 1640
5 Never 4585 6225
7 Refused 1 6226
9 Don't know 2 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ670 - Last yr couldn't eat because of mouth

Variable Name:
OHQ670
SAS Label:
Last yr couldn't eat because of mouth
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/has SP) found it uncomfortable to eat food because of problems with (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say...
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 237 237
2 Fairly often 230 467
3 Occasionally 671 1138
4 Hardly ever 617 1755
5 Never 4471 6226
7 Refused 0 6226
9 Don't know 2 6228
. Missing 0 6228

OHQ680 - Last yr embarrassed because of mouth

Variable Name:
OHQ680
SAS Label:
Last yr embarrassed because of mouth
English Text:
How often during the last year (have you/has SP) been self-conscious or embarrassed because of (your/his/her) teeth, mouth or dentures? Would you say...
Target:
Both males and females 18 YEARS - 150 YEARS
Code or Value Value Description Count Cumulative Skip to Item
1 Very often 283 283
2 Fairly often 200 483
3 Occasionally 462 945
4 Hardly ever 477 1422
5 Never 4804 6226
7 Refused 1 6227
9 Don't know 1 6228
. Missing 0 6228