Evaluation of oral self-care behavior among laypersons and dental students

Abstract

Background. The goals of this study were to identify oral self-care behavior and knowledge among dental students at Basrah Dentistry College and laypersons, as well as to assess the effectiveness of knowledge in improving oral hygiene performance in our culture. Materials and methods. Students and laypersons completed a self-administered questionnaires in their dormitories that included information on age, gender, tooth cleaning material, and frequency of tooth cleaning. The questionnaire was based on Google form questions found on the internet. The data were analyzed using SPSS statistics for Windows version 22. The association was considered statistically significant when P <0.05. Result. The total of 281 persons from both dental students & laypersons participated in the study. All the questionnaires were returned after the completion and were analyzed. The study shows that there is low deference between dental students and laypersons due to the availability of many sources of information nowadays such as dental clinics, internet and TV. Dental students perform better in oral hygiene than laypersons, which is undoubtedly owing to the lectures they receive in their studies and the setting of practical work in the college clinic, which makes them more interested and motivated. Conclusion. The outcome of the study is that there is a low level of knowledge about oral self-care procedures in dental students than in lay persons. So, there is a need to educate laypersons to increase their concern about oral hygiene and a need to instruct dental students on how to influence laypersons that will visit their clinic in the future.