Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices among male Qassim university students

Abstract

Background: Good oral health not only promotes an individual to look and feel good, it also helps in preserving oral functions. Oral health is considered an integral part of an individual's overall health. The study was carried out to assess oral health knowledge and practices among male students of Qassim University.Methods: This study included five hundred and eight Students from (4) male colleges in Qassim University enrolled in that academic year were invited to participate in this survey using a self-administered structured questionnaire consisted of (16) questions, written in Arabic and was pretested. Results: The students had good knowledge on the basic oral health measures. Majority (63%) of them they knew that poor oral health lead to gum disease, (59.1%) students were aware that maintaining oral hygiene by using toothbrush and paste. The attitude toward regular visits to the dentist were necessary (81.5%), they perceived brushing of teeth regularly prevents dental decay (94.9%), Sweets affected the teeth adversely (87.4%) and Soft drinks affect the teeth adversely (84.4%). But still students had poor oral health practices they brush their teeth once daily (71.3%) and brushed for less than the optimal time of two minutes (55.7%). Conclusions: Students had good knowledge on the basic oral health measures, but their attitude regarding oral health was diverse and practices toward oral health were relatively poor. Oral health education programs should be conducted with reinforcement, to close the gap between knowledge and practice.

Determinants of Tooth Brushing Practice among Medical and Health Sciences Students of University of Gondar, northwest Ethiopia

“…Oral hygiene is the process of protecting the oral cavity and keeping it healthy and clean by various modalities like brushing and flossing in order to prevent tooth decay and gum diseases [2]. It is the method of keeping oral cavity free from pathological conditions that affect mouth like gum diseases, cavities, mouth sores and ulcers [3].…”

The research of health education programme efficiency in changing the attitudes and behaviours of dental students in the field of oral health

“…This research has shown that personal care for oral health maintenance among students of dental medicine is low at the beginning of health education intervention, and that further educational efforts are needed to achieve an overall improvement of oral health, habits, attitudes and behaviour of students 8,13 .…”

“…Likewise, their knowledge, behaviour and attitudes should change positively over the years of study. Because professional (dental) students specialize in preventive information and health promotion, it is important that their own oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice are adequate 7,8 .…”

“…Health education intervention for modelling the factors that determine attitudes and behaviour in relation to oral health 7,8 . Health education intervention for modelling the factors that determine attitudes and behaviour in relation to oral health for the purposes of this research was defined in three stages through three complementary fields, as: the importance of oral health, oral hygiene, health-safe habits and included: method (group health education work and communication methods -live demonstrations, creative workshops); means of research (visual, audio-visual and demonstration models); content (characteristics of good oral health, the importance of oral health for health overall, preventability of oral diseases, control and preventive examinations at the dentist, definition and explanation of terms such as dental plaque, decay, gingivitis, concretions, periodontal disease, oral hygiene, oral hygiene accessories, toothbrush technique, an individual goal in achieving good oral health); practical work (training in proper oral hygiene, training in use of oral hygiene aids -dental floss, dental floss holder, proximal brush, mouthwashes, oral and dental hygiene control -dental biofilm staining method, toothpaste selection criteria for daily use -interpretation of fluoride composition declaration in toothpaste).…”

Determinants of Tooth Brushing Practice among Medical and Health Sciences Students of University of Gondar, northwest Ethiopia

“…Oral hygiene is the process of protecting the oral cavity and keeping it healthy and clean by various modalities like brushing and ossing in order to prevent tooth decay and gum diseases [2]. It is the method of keeping oral cavity free from pathological conditions that affect mouth like gum diseases, cavities, mouth sores and ulcers [3].…”