Preventive Oral Health Knowledge and Practice in Jeddah,Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Three preventive measures which have been recommended by the American Dental Association include that adults should thoroughly brush and floss their teeth at least once a day and get regular oral health check-ups. The purpose of this study is to assess the oral health knowledge and behaviour pat- terns among the Saudi Arabian population. 500 subjects were asked to com- plete a questionnaire which addressed many questions on oral health. All re- spondents were above 18 years of age. Responses showed that 98.5% brushed their teeth regularly, 35.2% used dental floss, and 69.8% visited the dentist. About 27.6% of all respondents used all three preventive measures. Miswak was used by 49.2% of the respondents. The study also showed that television was the most frequently reported source of education for the public on dental hygiene (60.7%). Although 98.5% of respondents used a dental brush daily, only 27.6% of the sample used a combination of the three recommended pre- ventive measures. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a government based effort to reinforce knowledge and implementation on proper dental hygiene.