Original Article MedInform DOI: 10.18044/MEDINFORM.202292.1590 ISSUE 2, 2022 1590 MedInform Level of health awareness and the development of dental caries in adults Lilia Doichinova 1 , Janet Kirilova 2 , Dimitar Kirov 3 1. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria 2. Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria 3. Department of Prosthetic Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Medical University, Sofia, Bulgaria Abstract Objective: The study aimed to assess the relationship between health knowledge, demographic determinants, and dental caries intensity in adults. Materials and methods: The study involved 100 patients aged 19 to 64 years. A structured questionnaire assessed sociodemographic factors and oral health knowledge. The DMFT+t index evaluates the incidence of dental caries in them. Results: The Intensity of dental caries was high in participants with low oral health literacy (9.37 ± 3.17), followed by those with a satisfactory level of health knowledge (6.25 ± 2.53) and participants with a high level of health knowledge (4.73 ± 1.22). Participants' age and gender were not significantly associated with health knowledge, in contrast to education (Rho= 0.818, p<0.001) and employment (Rho=−0.476<0.01), where a significant correlation was found. Conclusion: A significant association between health knowledge with DMFT score was found in participants. Keywords: Oral health literacy, parents, DMFT, children, demographic determinants.