Abstract
BackgroundBased on a national survey in 2015, people’s oral health behaviour (OHB) has not kept up with the pace of knowledge and attitudes in China after decades of oral health education (OHE). Thus, we need to improve OHE to strengthen people’s OHB. Undergraduates are regarded as the best candidates for the improvement of OHE. The objective of this study is to determine undergraduates’ oral health status and existing problems in OHB by comparing dental and non-dental students at Sichuan University. We hope to provide some suggestions for future OHE to improve people’s OHB.MethodsA quasi-experimental study designed with a pre-test and post-test group was conducted. A total of 217 dental students and 135 non-dental students were enrolled. They were administered an OHE course focused on OHB. A survey about oral health behaviour and knowledge was conducted before and after the course.ResultsAccording to the pre-course survey, dental students surpassed non-dental students in terms of toothbrushing frequency, method, and time, but unfortunately, flossing was overlooked by all the students. After the course, both dental and non-dental students showed strong willingness to improve their OHB. More non-dental students than dental students were willing to use toothpicks and Chinese herbal toothpaste before and after the course.ConclusionsOHE focused on behaviour has a positive effect on university students. Future OHE and interventions should focus on flossing, toothbrushing methods, toothpicks, Chinese herbal toothpaste and modifications to adopt new media.
Highlights
Based on a national survey in 2015, people’s oral health behaviour (OHB) has not kept up with the pace of knowledge and attitudes in China after decades of oral health education (OHE)
The results revealed that dental students performed much better than non-dental students before (P = 0.000) and after (P = 0.000) the course
For dental students at Sichuan University, they underwent oral health education starting in their first year
Summary
Based on a national survey in 2015, people’s oral health behaviour (OHB) has not kept up with the pace of knowledge and attitudes in China after decades of oral health education (OHE). The number of people with untreated oral conditions worldwide increased from 2.5 million in 1990 to 3.5 billion in 2015, with a 64.0% increase in disability-adjusted life years due to oral conditions [2] Among these conditions, untreated dental caries, severe periodontitis, and missing teeth are the three most common and chronic infectious oral diseases [1]. 87.4% of adults between 35 and 44 years old suffered from gingival bleeding [5] These findings may suggest that people’s oral health behaviour (OHB) has not improved with the pace of the knowledge and attitudes in China via OHE
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