Oral Hygiene Practices, Smoking Habits and Self-Percieved Oral Malodor among Dental Students

Abstract

Objective: 1.To assess the oral hygiene practices of dental students. 2. To assess the smoking habits among dental students. 3. To assess the self-perception of bad breath. 4. To determine the differences of self perception of halitosis and oral hygiene practices among male and female students. Materials and Method: This descriptive study contains a questionnaire to assess the self perceptionof bad breath, tooth decay, dryness of mouth, bleeding gums, prevelance of smoking habits, oral hygiene practicesamong the dental students of saveetha dental college, Chennai. 386 students were randomly involved in the study to achieve the sample size. The data was collected and statistically evaluated using SPSS software. Results and Conclusion: The response rate was 92.5%. Smoking was prevalent among 8% of male students, out of which 83% have been smoking for the past 5 years. Almost 94% had a desire to quit tobacco. 68.7% brushed twice daily while 4.7% students brushed more than two times. 93.3% dental students are found to be using other oral hygiene aids. 42.7% students used mouthwash whereas 23.3% use tongue cleaner. Dental caries was prevalent among 25.6% of students, bleeding gums among 7.5% and dryness of mouth among 6.7%. 27% students could perceive oral breath, whereas only 5% students experienced interference at their work. Morning breath was common among 64.5% of students, both male and female. The correlation between tobacco usage and its effect on oral cavity was assessed. 17.2% of students who use tobacco have reported bleeding gums and 20.7% smokers reported dryness of mouth.