Abstract
BackgroundOral diseases remain a significant public health problem in Nepal, as do oral health behaviours. Socio-demographic factors play a crucial role in driving oral hygiene practices. This study aims to identify oral hygiene practices and associated socio-demographic factors in Nepalese population.MethodsThis descriptive, cross-sectional study recruited 4200 adults (15–69 years) through multistage cluster sampling. Data obtained from the WHO NCD STEPS instrument version 2.2 were analysed in STATA 13.0 using complex sample weighted analysis.ResultsPrevalence of cleaning teeth at least once a day was 94.9 % (95 % CI: 93.7–95.9), while that of cleaning teeth at least twice a day was 9.9 % (95 % CI: 8.2–11.9). Use of fluoridated toothpaste was seen among 71.4 % (95 % CI: 67.9–74.7) respondents. A 3.9 % (95 % CI: 3.1–5.0) made a dental visit in the last 6 months.The 45–69 years age group had lesser odds of cleaning teeth at least once a day (AOR: 0.4; 95 % CI: 0.2–0.8), in comparison to 15–29 years age group. Women had greater odds of cleaning teeth at least twice a day (AOR: 1.7; 95 % CI: 1.1–2.4) and having visited a dentist in the last 6 months (AOR: 2.2; 95 % CI: 1.2–3.8) compared to men. With reference to rural residents, urban population had higher odds of using fluoridated toothpaste (AOR: 2.3; 95 % CI: 1.4–3.4) and making a dental visit within the last 6 months (AOR: 1.9; 95 % CI:1.1–3.6). Inhabitants of the Terai had five-fold (AOR: 4.9; 95 % CI: 3.1–7.8) greater odds of cleaning teeth once per day than did hill residents. Those with higher education had greater odds than non-formal education holders of cleaning teeth at least once a day (AOR: 9.0; 95 % CI: 2.9–27.7), cleaning teeth at least twice a day (AOR: 5.6; 95 % CI: 2.9–10.6), using fluoridated toothpaste (AOR: 13.9; 95 % CI: 8.4–23.1), and having visited a dentist in the last 6 months (AOR: 2.8; 95 % CI: 1.4–5.4).ConclusionsCleaning teeth at least once a day is widely prevalent in Nepal and a substantial number of population use fluoridated toothpaste. However, cleaning teeth twice a day and visiting a dentist is less common. Being women, Terai residents, urban residents, and educated were significantly associated with oral hygiene practices assessed in this study.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12903-016-0294-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Oral diseases remain a significant public health problem in Nepal, as do oral health behaviours
A total of 4,143 adults participated in STEP I, which contained the module on oral health
We report the results for 4143 observations for all the variables except marital status where we had two missing responses
Summary
Oral diseases remain a significant public health problem in Nepal, as do oral health behaviours. Sociodemographic factors play a crucial role in driving oral hygiene practices. This study aims to identify oral hygiene practices and associated socio-demographic factors in Nepalese population. Oral diseases are a major public health concern globally [1], and profoundly impact the well being and daily social lives of people [2]. 3.9 billion people are affected by oral diseases [3]. Poor oral hygiene is recognised as one of the greatest risk factors for oral diseases [1]. Evidence shows that brushing teeth at least twice a day and making dental visits help to counter oral health problems [4]. Oral hygiene practices are in turn influenced by sociodemographic environment [1, 5]. Higher education [6, 7], socioeconomic status [8] have been found to contribute to oral hygiene habits and utilisation of oral health services
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