Estonian Dental Students’ Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitudes and Behaviours (KAB): National Survey-Based Study

Abstract

The strategic plan for dentistry and oral health in Estonia of 2030 focuses on oral health promotion and disease prevention through undergraduate dental curricula and fostering public health-oriented research among students. The present study was designed as a descriptive cross-sectional study to evaluate oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours (KAB) of dental students in Estonia. The study was carried out in the spring semester of 2020, and it used a modified version of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI). A total of 129 students responded to the survey, constituting a response rate of 93.5% due to the total population sampling (census) technique used in this study and the small target population size. Out of the 124 students included in the final analysis, 79% were females, 62.1% were clinical students, 11.3% reported smoking tobacco at least once a week, and 86.3% reported problematic internet use. The present study found that mean HU-DBI score of Estonian dental students was 8.09 ± 1.22 which is so far the highest recorded HU-DBI score in Europe. There was no significant difference between female vs. male or preclinical vs. clinical students in terms of HU-DBI score. While clinical students reported less faulty oral hygiene practices, such as hard toothbrush use and aggressive toothbrushing, preclinical students reported a slightly higher mean HU-DBI score. Smoking behaviour was more common among male and clinical students, and it was also associated with alcohol drinking and worry about teeth colour and halitosis.

Development and Initial Validation of the Oral Health Activities Questionnaire

“…Furthermore, the questionnaire could be a better instrument of choice for obtaining information about individual characteristics that are not found in clinical examinations, such as daily activities related to oral health [24]. In the literature, there are few examples of questionnaires that examine oral health attitudes and behaviours, and the most frequently used questionnaire is the HU-DBI developed by Kawamura [13][14][15][16][17][18], which focuses only on the tooth brushing technique and pays little attention to other oral health activities. From a clinical point of view, the OHAQ can be used as a guidance that will help a dentist diagnose a patient's oral health profile.…”

“…Factors that influence the effectiveness and adequacy of the patients' oral hygiene level include their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour regarding oral disease prevention. Multiple studies compared oral health attitudes and behaviour in different countries among students, and most of them used the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), developed by Kawamura [13][14][15][16][17][18]. This inventory consists of 20 dichotomous questions (agree/disagree) and aims to investigate the behaviour of patients during toothbrushing to predict their clinical outcomes.…”

Czech and Slovak Dental Students’ Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours (KAB): Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Study

“…The SAQ comprised three main categories: (i) demographic characteristics including gender, university, and academic level, (ii) the original HU-DBI items ( n = 20), and (iii) general health behaviours including tobacco smoking “I consume tobacco at least once a week”, alcohol drinking “I drink alcohol at least once a week”, problematic internet use “I find myself using my smartphone/compute longer than I planned”, and regular dental check-ups “I go to the dentist/ hygienist for a regular check-up at least once a year” [ 45 , 46 , 47 ] ( Appendix A ).…”

Optimization artificial neural network classification analysis model diagnosis Gingivitis disease

“…In (2) explains that the R-value obtained is based on the overall calculation between the predictor variable value and the output. The forestry results in the level of relationship of all indicators with the results of the analysis obtained previously [46].…”

“…Health is a basic human need and also a supporting factor in carrying out activities [1]. One of the health that needs to be considered is dental and oral health [2]. Oral and dental health is a difficult thing to pay attention to for the community, especially among children [3].…”