Associations between dental knowledge, source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior in Japanese university students: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between dental knowledge, the source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior in a group of students at a university in Japan. A total of 2,220 university students (1,276 males, 944 females) volunteered to undergo an oral examination and answer a questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed dental knowledge, the source of dental knowledge and oral health behavior (e.g., daily frequency of tooth brushing, use of dental floss and regular dental checkups). The odds ratio and 95% confidence interval for oral health behavior based on dental knowledge and source of dental knowledge were calculated using logistic regression models. Of the participants, 1,266 (57.0%) students obtained dental knowledge from dental clinics, followed by school (39.2%) and television (29.1%). Logistic regression analyses indicated that use of dental floss was significantly associated with source of dental knowledge from dental clinics (P = 0.006). Receiving regular dental checkups was significantly associated with source of dental knowledge; the positive source was dental clinic (P < 0.001) and the negative sources were school (P = 0.004) and television (P = 0.018). Dental clinic was the most common source of dental knowledge and associated with better oral health behavior among the Japanese university students in this study.

Relationship between oral hygiene knowledge, source of oral hygiene knowledge and oral hygiene behavior in Japanese university students: A prospective cohort study

“…No significant association was found between the frequency of tooth brushing and the source of oral hygiene knowledge; this finding supports that of our previous study [11].…”

“…Not using dental floss was associated with lower OHI-S scores, and not receiving regular dental checkups was associated with lower OHI-S scores and %BOP (S3 Table); these findings suggest that the students with poor oral hygiene behavior also had poor oral hygiene and/or periodontal status, which supports the findings of previous studies [6,10,11]. Therefore, acquiring oral hygiene knowledge from dental clinics may be effective for improving oral hygiene behavior, thereby contributing to the achievement and maintenance of good periodontal status.…”

“…Based on the results of our previous cross-sectional study [11], we conducted a prospective cohort study focused on the relationship between oral hygiene knowledge, the source of that knowledge, and oral hygiene behavior. We found a significant association between improved oral hygiene behavior, in terms of the use of dental floss and having regular dental visits, and having dental clinics as the source of oral hygiene knowledge in a group of Japanese university students.…”

A Comparative Study on Self-rated Oral Health Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in a Marginalized Community From Eastern Nepal

“…4 Knowledge on dental hygiene gained from regular visits to dental clinics contributes to increased use of oral hygiene aids. 5 Proper oral health hygiene including regular tooth-brushing, use of oral hygiene aids and regular dental check-ups have been associated with reduced periodontal diseases. 6 Poor oral health is associated with weight loss, malnutrition, systemic diseases and focal infections increasing morbidity and mortality as observed in different studies.…”

Nivel de conocimientos sobre salud oral e índice de caries en adolescentes de una escuela de Pirayú, Paraguay

“…Con respecto a la caries dental a los 12 años, Paraguay en el año 2008 presentaba un índice(8) CPO-D de riesgo moderado con un valor de 2,79 y(9) en el año 2017 el riesgo fue bajo con un valor de 2,07 .Al mismo tiempo, tener mayores conocimientos sobre salud oral redundará en cambios de actitudes positivas y motivación para el desarrollo de conductas saludables aumentando la predisposición del individuo para realizar tareas de prevención(10,11) oral . Así también, tener conocimientos acerca de salud oral se asoció con mejores prácticas de(12) medidas de higiene oral , pues esto ayudaría a(13) prevenir enfermedades orales . Por tanto, el cambio e implementación de hábitos saludables debe ser(14)…”