An assessment of oral self-care level among Japanese dental hygiene students and general nursing students using the Hiroshima University--Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI): surveys in 1990/1999.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in oral self-care levels between Japanese dental hygiene students and general nursing students in 1999, and compare them with a similar study in 1990. The examination was mainly based upon responses to a questionnaire titled "Hiroshima University--Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI)". Higher scores of the HU-DBI indicate better oral health attitudes/behaviour. The mean HU-DBI score of the 2nd-year dental hygiene students was significantly greater than that of the 2nd-year nursing students (9.56 and 6.65, respectively; p<0.001), and much higher than those of the 1st-year students at each course (dental hygiene course; 6.30, nursing course; 5.88). Except for the 2nd-year dental hygiene class, there were no significant differences in the HU-DBI score between the 1990 and 1999 subgroups of each class. About 1/3 of the 2nd-year nursing students reported a belief that they may eventually require false teeth, while 6% of the 2nd-year dental hygiene students held this belief. More than 60% of this study sample stated that they put off going to the dentist until they had toothache. The 2nd-year dental hygiene students were more likely to have this attitude than their 1990 peers. Flossing was not popular among the nursing students in either 1990 or 1999. Although the difference in the HU-DBI score across time was not major, the variation in HU-DBI and the favourable attitudes/behaviour toward oral health appeared to reflect the differences in schooling between student hygienists and student nurses.