ORAL HEALTH ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS AMONG PATIENTS IN A DENTAL HOSPITAL IN ANKARA, TURKEY

Abstract

Purpose: Information about public’s knowledge and attitude about oral diseases and their prevention would indicate the need for education of the community. The objective of this study was to have a foresight about oral health attitude and behavior among adult patients in a state dental hospital, Ankara. Material and Method: Questionnaire was prepared using Turkish version of Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) and additional 7 questions. 258 number of patients participated. Edentulous patients and patients under 12 years old were kept out of the study. Pearson’s ChiSquare,Kruskall-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U Tests were used to analyse the results. Results: The average age was 33.0. Of the participants, 51.2% was female and 48.8% was male. 14.3% of the patients was graduated from primary school, 12.1% secondary school, 36.4% high school, 3.9% open university, 33.3% university and post graduate. The mean HU-DBI score was 5.3 (out of 12). Females had significantly higher HU-DBI scores than males (p=0.039). Individuals brushing before sleep had significantly high scores (p=0.0001). Females brushed their teeth before sleep more than males (p=0.019). Females preferred medicine first more than males (p=0.019). Statistically significant difference in prefering medicine first was determined in the group of primary school (p=0.012). As level of education increased, usage rate of dental floss increased (p=0.018). Conclusions: Oral health attitude and behavior of the population studied was not satisfactory. Oral health education should be provided for the community