A Comparative Evaluation of Self-Reported Oral Hygiene Practices Among Medical and Engineering University Students with Access to Health-promotive Dental Care

Abstract

Aim:This study was conducted to test the null hypothesis that no difference exists in the oral hygiene knowledge and practices of university students in different courses when they have equal opportunity to access health-promotive dental care. Methods and Materials:The study was conducted using 120 students each from the medical and engineering colleges at the University of Manipal Academy of Higher Education who had easy access to the dental college within the campus which provides health-promotive dental care to all its patients. A self-administered structured questionnaire consisting of questions on demographic data, oral hygiene knowledge and practices, and dental service utilization patterns was distributed among the students. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS 10 version.Results: Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to the knowledge of fluoridated toothpastes, frequency of toothbrush renewal, use of dental floss, and a tongue cleaner (p<0.001). The groups were similar in all other practices including the utilization of dental services. There were no significant differences between the self-reported oral hygiene knowledge and practices among medical and engineering university students, but the knowledge levels of the students were considerably lower than expected.

Assessment of oral health attitudes and behavior among students of Kuwait University Health Sciences Center

“…Similar results were reported by Doshi et al . [22] who reported that dental and medical students have better attitudes toward oral health behavior than their counterparts in other faculties. This similarity may be explained by the nature of the clinical curriculum of the Faculty of Medicine.…”

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A comparative study of oral health knowledge, attitude and behaviour of non‐medical, para‐medical and medical students in Udaipur city, Rajasthan, India

“…In another study by Doshi et al. (1), there was no significant difference in the usage of fluoridated tooth paste usage, tongue cleaning, mouth rinsing after meals and dental service utilization among the medical and engineering students, but the brushing after every meal and the dental floss use were significantly higher among the medical students than among the engineering students ( P < 0.001) for both.…”

“…Any nation can progress rapidly when its people are healthy and lead a productive life. Since the adoption of WHO definition of health (1948), resources around the world have been trying to raise the critical consciousness of people to effect a change from existing disease‐centric, pain‐relieving notion of health care to promoting a health‐centric and well‐being concept (1).…”

Prevalence of health behaviors and their associated factors among a sample of university students in India

“…Of concern was that the high rate of overweight and obesity (26.8% and 10.7%, respectively), low rate of brushing teeth at least twice a day (28.6%),) annual dental check-up (25.8%), habitual seatbelt use (23%), poor dietary patterns (79% ate less than the recommended 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and 68.5% did not avoid eating fat and cholesterol), and a large proportion (30.6%) who slept on average only 6 or less hours in a day. Other studies among Indian university students also found poor dental practices, i.e., 32% went for a dental check up at least every 6 months and 44.1% of medical students and 39.1% of engineering students brushed their teeth twice daily (63). These findings suggest the need to focus attention on university students as a target group for health education campaigns to maintain their BMI within the normal range, to improve their dietary behaviors, to improve dental care and sleep duration, to increase seatbelt use, and to reduce substance use.…”