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Oral health behaviour and its determinants amongst Iranian dental students 1
Author(s) -
Khami Mohammad R.,
Virtanen Jorma I.,
Jafarian Mohammad,
Murtomaa Heikki
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
european journal of dental education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.583
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1600-0579
pISSN - 1396-5883
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0579.2007.00424.x
Subject(s) - medicine , logistic regression , toothpaste , preventive care , oral hygiene , family medicine , tooth brushing , dentistry , dental care , cluster sampling , test (biology) , health care , environmental health , toothbrush , population , paleontology , brush , engineering , electrical engineering , economics , biology , economic growth
Objectives: To study the oral health behaviour (OHB) of Iranian senior dental students in relation to their gender, background characteristics, knowledge of preventive care, and attitudes towards preventive dentistry. Materials and methods: Using a cluster random sampling approach, a questionnaire survey was conducted with 327 senior dental students in seven dental schools. The questionnaire covered age, gender, parents’ employment in dentistry, previous academic education in dental hygiene, oral self‐care, most recent dental check‐up, knowledge of preventive dentistry and attitudes towards it. Attending a dental check‐up by a dentist or a classmate within the last year was defined as preventive care use. Chi‐square test and logistic regression models were used for statistical analyses. Results: Women reported significantly higher frequencies of tooth brushing ( P < 0.001), fluoridated toothpaste use ( P = 0.001) and flossing ( P < 0.001) compared with men. Respondents who had been previously educated as dental hygienists had lower frequencies of eating sugary snacks ( P < 0.001) and paid more attention to preventive care ( P = 0.03) than others. Those with more extensive knowledge of preventive care reported higher frequencies of using fluoridated toothpaste ( P = 0.05). Reported frequencies of brushing were higher amongst those with more positive attitudes ( P = 0.03). In logistic regression models, having at least one parent employed as a dentist was significantly associated with higher frequencies of eating sugary snacks ( P = 0.047, OR = 0.3) and more frequent preventive care use ( P = 0.048, OR = 2.9). Conclusion: Education and training in preventive measures should be effective enough to overcome background characteristics. There is room for improving the OHB of Iranian dental students.