Caries prevalence, oral health practices/behaviours and dental anxiety levels amongst dental hygiene students: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine caries prevalence, oral health practices/behaviours and dental anxiety levels amongst dental hygiene students. A self-administered questionnaire was used to determine students' oral hygiene practices/behaviours. The students were subjected to oral examinations to determine their decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) scores according to the WHO criteria. In addition, the Corah's Dental Anxiety Scale (CDAS) was used to measure the students' dental anxiety levels. A total of 280 students (mean age: 20.8years) participated in this study. Amongst the students, 52.8% brush their teeth twice a day, and 17.48% and 15.17% use floss and mouthwash daily, respectively. Moreover, the defined smoking rate was 22.85%. The mean DMFT scores of the preclinical and clinical students were 3.39±3.22 and 3.55±3.19, respectively. Most of the students (82.6%) preferred fluoride toothpaste, and the DMFT scores of those who use and do not use fluoride toothpaste significantly differed (p=0.031). Furthermore, junk-food consumption affected the scores for decayed teeth (p=0.048) and missing teeth (p=0.039). Most students had low or moderate CDAS scores (CDAS <13), and anxiety scores were lower amongst the clinical students than amongst the preclinical students. Although the students demonstrated favourable oral health behaviours/practices and low caries prevalence, their adherence to oral hygiene instructions and to healthy dietary and lifestyle habits should improve. The importance of this topic should be strongly emphasized in the undergraduate curriculum. For this purpose, professional behavioural control methods that suit students' individual capacities, motivations and therapeutic needs may be employed. The principal findings of similar studies should be evaluated by lecturers to help students adopt optimal oral health practices/behaviours, reducing their dental anxiety levels and improving their professional competencies.