Perception of dental and other individual problems: adolescents versus young adults

Abstract

The importance of dental problems in comparison with general health problems and psychological problems was judged by 642 adolescents. The methods used were paired comparison and direct ranking of nine stimuli. Adolescents were quite consistent in their choices. The agreement within the group was statistically significant. Adolescents judged dental problems as less important than general health problems and as more important than psychological problems. The correlation between the methods of paired comparison and direct ranking was high. The results were compared retrospectively with findings from a study of 51 older subjects. Adolescents and adults did not differ much from each other except for the ordering of the nine problems. Adults ranked dental problems as the least important.

Measurement and predictors of young adults' perceived ability to cope with dental life events

“…In addition to demographic information, the questionnaire included a Norwegian translation of two dental anxiety scales (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19), questions about dietary habits, dental health behavior, extractions during the last 5 years, satisfaction with teeth, belief in retaining natural teeth for a lifetime, dental problems, and self-assessed general health. The question How easy or difficult do you consider it would be for you to cope with the following life events?…”

“…Tooth loss and the wearing of dentures may constitute serious psycho-social problems (1)(2)(3)(4)(5), yet the value of teeth and the severity of dental problems have received lower rank compared with other bodily parts, individual health, psychological and material problems (6)(7)(8). It is also accepted that life-stress which requires readjustment may be associated with the onset and extent of illness through hormonal and immune system changes (for review, see [9][10][11][12].…”

Study of Medical Interns’ Knowledge Level about Children’s Oral Health Between 2011 and 2012 in Medical Universities in Tehran, Iran

“…Parents usually lack adequate information about the importance of teeth health and referring their children to dentists, which results in increasing tooth decay and oral health problems. Children are teachable, and teaching them is believed to increase their knowledge up to 50% (6)(7)(8). There are some efforts that should be made by parents such as teaching and supervising accurate tooth brushing at appropriate age (9,10).…”