The recoverability, reliability, and generalizability of reward processing parameters and relation to mental health symptoms.

Health literacy (HL) refers to the skills related to obtaining, understanding, and using health information and services for the promotion and maintenance of health. It is considered a complex and multidimensional construct comprising individual knowledge, skills, and capabilities regarding health and disease, risk and protective factors, and health systems and resources. Oral health literacy (OHL) is a subset of HL that can be defined by the extent to which individuals are able to obtain, process, and understand information regarding oral health, thereby enabling them to make appropriate decisions concerning their oral health. Within the field of health, the use of the term “literacy” has increased in recent years, replacing other terms in Portuguese like “alfabetização” and “letramento”, particularly in studies concerning the management of chronic diseases within the realm of health promotion, as it appears to better capture the multidimensional nature of the theoretical models currently being proposed in the health sciences. OHL is linked to the degree of individual autonomy and empowerment. Given its associations with socio-demographic characteristics, oral health behaviors, and clinical oral health outcomes, it may be considered a significant determinant of oral health. Low levels of OHL have been associated with poorer socioeconomic characteristics and poorer oral health conditions across all age groups. Among Brazilian adolescents, a high level of OHL was a predictor of dental service utilization at age 12 and was associated with greater family cohesion, higher income, and higher maternal educational attainment, as well as a lower number of untreated carious lesions. Among adolescents aged 15 to 19, higher OHL was associated with a lower number of cavitated carious lesions, less tooth loss, and better academic performance; it was also associated with white skin color, a more stable family structure, enrollment in private schools, membership in more affluent economic classes, and parents with higher levels of education. These findings underscore the broad context surrounding this topic; however, knowledge regarding OHL among Brazilian adolescents remains scarce given the diversity of the Brazilian population.