Determinants of preventive oral health behaviour among senior dental students in Nigeria
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Date
2013
Authors
Folayan, M.O
Khami, M.R
Folaranmi, N
Popoola, B.O
Sofola, O.O
Ligali, T.O
Esan, A.O
Orenuga, O.O
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BMC ORAL HEALTH
Abstract
Background: To study the association between oral health behaviour of senior dental students in Nigeria and their
gender, age, knowledge of preventive care, and attitudes towards preventive dentistry.
Methods: Questionnaires were administered to 179 senior dental students in the six dental schools in Nigeria. The
questionnaire obtained information on age, gender, oral self-care, knowledge of preventive dental care and
attitudes towards preventive dentistry. Attending a dental clinic for check-up by a dentist or a classmate within the
last year was defined as preventive care use. Students who performed oral self-care and attended dental clinic for
check-ups were noted to have complied with recommended oral self-care. Chi-square test and binary logistic
regression models were used for statistical analyses.
Results: More male respondents agreed that the use of fluoride toothpaste was more important than the tooth
brushing technique for caries prevention (P < 0.001). While the use of dental floss was very low (7.3%), more
females were more likely to report using dental floss (p=0.03). Older students were also more likely to comply with
recommended oral self-care (p<0.001). In binary regression models, respondents who were younger (p=0.04) and
those with higher knowledge of preventive dental care (p=0.008) were more likely to consume sugary snacks less
than once a day.
Conclusion: Gender differences in the awareness of the superiority of using fluoridated toothpaste over brushing
in caries prevention; and in the use of dental floss were observed. While older students were more likely to comply
with recommended oral self-care measures, younger students with good knowledge of preventive dental care were
more likely to consume sugary snacks less than once a daY
Description
Scholarly article
Keywords
Nigeria , Dental , Students , Knowledge , Prevention , Research Subject Categories::ODONTOLOGY
Citation
Folayan et al.: Determinants of preventive oral health behaviour among senior dental students in Nigeria. BMC Oral Health 2013 13:28. Submit