Oral health attitudes and practices among college students in Jeju province

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the effects of oral healthcare awareness and related factors on the attitude toward oral health management and its practice among college students in Jeju province. A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted on 365 students. The scores for the questions pertaining to the use of toothbrush three or more times a day, use of floss, and previous oral healthcare education (p<0.05) were significantly higher in the oral healthcare students. The non-oral healthcare students presented with higher scores for the use of mouthwash (p<0.05). Furthermore, the oral healthcare students presented with higher scores for both attitude and practice toward oral healthcare (p<0.05) when compared with the non-oral healthcare students. The education level (p<0.001) and gender (p<0.001) were affected the attitude of the students toward oral healthcare, whereas only the sex (p<0.05) had a significant effect on the practice of oral healthcare. The oral healthcare students (odds ratio [OR]=16.926) and 3rd-year students (OR=4.676) demonstrated higher scores for “previous oral healthcare education” compared with the non-oral healthcare students and 1styear students, respectively. Use of dental floss increased with the advancement in the year of study (2nd year, OR=2.076; 3rd year, OR=2.424), and male students scored lower (OR=0.600) than the female students. Male students had lower scores (OR=0.489) for the question on regular dental visits. These findings indicate the need for specific educational tools and comprehensive research using standardized measures in future.