Oral health behavior and its determinants in a group of Iranian students

Abstract

Background: Daily toothbrushing and flossing are easy, effective and low-cost practices for removing the microbial dental plaque, which is an important factor in the development of caries and periodontal disease. Aim: The objective of this study is evaluation of oral health behaviors in a group of students from an Iranian university . Materials and Methods: This descriptive analytical cross-sectional study was carried out on 1736 Iranian students (1230 non-medical sciences students and 506 medical sciences students). Subjects were randomly selected. The students were asked to fill out a self-completion questionnaire about daily oral health behavior. Statistical Analysis Used: The chi-square test was used for evaluation of oral health behaviors and relationship between students′ oral hygiene behavior and educational levels. Results : There was no difference between the frequencies of tooth brushing in the students of two universities. Medical sciences students used dental floss more than non-medical sciences students, which was a significant difference ( P = 0.000). There was no significant difference in toothbrushing frequency among the students with different levels of education. But the students of doctorate and masters degrees used dental floss significantly more than those of bachelor or associate degrees ( P = 0.000). Conclusions: This study showed that the level of self oral care among Iranian students is at a lower level than in industrialized countries.

Keywords

• Oral hygiene
• oral health
• toothbrushing
• flossing