Open AccessDental knowledge and oral health among middle‐aged adults
Author(s) -
Brennan David,
Spencer John,
RobertsThomson Kaye
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00592.x
Subject(s) - medicine , oral health , dental decay , toothpaste , dentistry , family medicine , tooth brushing , toothbrush , brush , electrical engineering , engineering
Objective:Knowledge of oral disease prevention should lead to better oral health outcomes. The aims were to assess the association of dental knowledge and oral health.Methods:A random sample of 45–54 year‐olds from Adelaide, South Australia, was surveyed in 2004/05. Oral examinations provided data on caries.Results:A total of 879 persons returned questionnaires (response=43.8%) with 709 (80.7%) examined. The majority rated ‘seeing a dentist regularly’ (63.0%), ‘regular brushing of teeth’ (92.5%) and ‘using fluoride toothpaste’ (52.2%) as ‘definitely important’ in preventing tooth decay. The percentage of persons who had a high knowledge of tooth decay prevention was 59.9%. Multivariate analysis controlling for sex, place of birth, education and income showed ( p <0.05) associations of high dental knowledge of tooth decay prevention with fewer decayed teeth (β=‐0.19) and more filled teeth (β=1.13).Conclusions:Dental knowledge was associated with oral health status.Implications:Conveying of information should be one part of oral health promotion actions to improve oral health.