Oral self-care practices among university students in Port Harcourt, Rivers State

Abstract

Background:The maintenance of optimum oral health is dependent on the efficacy of oral self-care. The objective of the present study was to evaluate oral self-care practices and knowledge among non-medical students at the University of Port Harcourt, Rivers State Nigeria.Materials and Methods:The cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students at the University of Port Harcourt Nigeria, in January, 2014. Self-administered questionnaire elicited information on demography, frequency of tooth brushing, type of tooth brush, use of dental floss and previous visit to the dentist.Results:A total of 360 young adults, 188 males and 172 females, aged 18-33 years participated in the study. Brushing habits of the study population was at least once a day (90%). Approximately half (52.5 %) of the samples used medium-sized bristles and about 28.8% of the students replaced their toothbrush every 3 months. Regarding oral hygiene aids, few students, 5.8% and 4.2% used dental floss and mouthwash, respectively, as oral cleaning aid. Most of the students (71.6%) had never visited the dentist, 18.1% visited due to dental pain and 8.1% for extraction. Regarding knowledge on oral hygiene practice, approximately 60% of students knew that we have to brush our teeth twice daily, 31% knew we need to visit the dentist twice a year and only 18% knew what was dental floss.Conclusion:Oral hygiene practices among the students were poor. Therefore, oral health education and promotion is required to improve oral hygiene practices and health among young adults and the general population.

Determinants of oral self-care in the Brazilian adult population: a national cross-sectional study

“…In addition, the creation of a variable that represents all the elements considered as characterizing oral selfcare by the literature 7,8,10,12,17 is what makes this study so very distinct. As observed in the methodological description, the grouping of factors shows a high explanatory capacity, and the variable created can be used in other studies and in health planning involving more concrete strategies for self-care.…”

“…17 This finding could reflect the influential role played by recommendations from dentists, toothbrush manufacturers, and sellers. 17 As mentioned above, females were found to take greater care than males in relation to practically all the variables forming the oral self-care indicator. Among the explanations for this finding is that preventive habits are more common among women, mainly due to aesthetic or social patterns.…”

“…In the field of oral health, the recognition and analysis of the process of acquiring individual autonomy is under construction, and studies predominantly show an association between oral self-care and isolated factors. 7,8,9,10,11 The literature points out that appropriate oral health depends on maintaining certain practices, including periodic dental visits, 12,13,14,15 tooth brushing frequency, 7,10,12,16,17 toothbrush replacement frequency, 17,18 dental flossing, and use of auxiliary techniques, 7,12,17,19 and that all these factors together represent oral selfcare. However, the studies usually evaluate oral selfcare in a segmented manner, relating it specifically to dental flossing, toothbrushing or regular visits to the dentist.…”

“…However, the studies usually evaluate oral selfcare in a segmented manner, relating it specifically to dental flossing, toothbrushing or regular visits to the dentist. 7,8,10,16,17 Therefore, the factors that actually infer oral self-care cannot be predicted accurately.…”

Assessment of the hygiene and sanitation practices of students of class VI to IX in urban government inter college at Allahabad district, India

“…17 Likewise to present study, Bashiru and Anthony found that in University students only 8% brush their teeth twice daily. 18 On the contrary Llesanmi found study most of senior secondary school students (98.2%) were brushing teeth 1-2 times a day and also in an another study done by Talinova, 90% of the grammar school students replied they cleaned their teeth twice a day. 13,19 Satish revealed that only 30.43% children brushed twice and almost all of them cleaned their tongue at least once a day.…”