Original scientific paper
An Assessment of Self-Reported Oral Health Behaviour of Non-Dental School Students in Turkey
Gülcan Coşkun Akar
; Ege University, School of Dentistry, Department of Prosthodontics, Izmir, Turkey
Nezih Metin Özmutaf
; Atatürk Medical Technology Vocational Training School, University of Ege, Izmir, Turkey
Zuhal Ozgur
; Atatürk Medical Technology Vocational Training School, University of Ege, Izmir, Turkey
Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the self-reported oral health behaviours of Turkish non-dental school students. Methods: A sample of 300 students (mean age 19.0±1.36) – 233 females (mean age 18.7±0.99), and 67 males (mean age 19.9±1.88) – attending Ege University, Izmir, were randomly selected from the whole student population. Data on self-reported oral health behaviour of students were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. Results: It was observed that all the students performed oral care, 92.3% used toothbrush and toothpaste for care, and the frequency of brushing the teeth twice or more a day was 43.3%. It was determined that 34 students (11.3%) had never been to the dentist, it had been more than 1 year for 50% that they had seen a dentist, and the main reason for seeing the dentist was toothache for 29%. Female students brushed their teeth more frequently than male students (p<0.05). Compared with male students, females tended to have gingival bleeding (p<0.01), felt more pain in the wisdom tooth area (p<0.05), and they perceived more sounds in opening-closing of the mouth (p<0.05). Conclusion: Systematic oral health education programmes should be implemented in respect to all educational levels and ages, especially for the people
who will work in the field of health, to support the improvement of regular oral selfcare practices.
Keywords
Oral Health; Dental Health Survey; Students
Hrčak ID:
34352
URI
Publication date:
15.3.2009.
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