Assessment of Oral Hygiene Habits and Knowledge of Caries Among University Students in Taif City.

Abstract

Background: Obtaining a baseline information of the oral hygiene habits and knowledge of caries is essential and it will help in establishment of adequate preventive programs and proper allocation of available dental services. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine self-reported oral hygiene habits and caries knowledge of Saudi students in Taif University. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Taif University. A self-reported, anonymous and structured questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 600 students (n=600; Male (M) =300, Female (F) =300) from different colleges. The questionnaire included two sections, one section for assessing the oral hygiene behavior (Q1-Q11) and another to assess the knowledge of caries (Q12-Q20). The students were requested to remain in the classroom after the lecture to answer the questions. The participation was voluntary and the answers were anonymous. The data was collected and then analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, v.21) software to calculate the frequency distribution and percentage. Results: The male and female responses are presented in tables to show the distribution frequency of each question. In addition, the overall percentages of total students' responses are presented in figures. Results of the first part of the questionnaire show that 47.5% (41.21% of males, 53.94% of females) practice good oral hygiene behavior. Conversely, 52.5% of students (58.79% of males and 46.06% of females) practice incorrect behavior. The results of the second part show that 45.04% of the students (47.11% of males, 42.96% of females) have correct knowledge about caries. In contrast, 54.96% of students (52.89% of males, 57.04% of females) lack that knowledge about caries. Conclusion:The findings of this study indicate that more than half of the students practice incorrect oral hygiene behaviors and lack the basic knowledge about caries and its related information, so this direct us to the importance of conducting oral health promotion programs to raise the