Sexual differences in smoking behaviour and dental caries experience in young adults

Abstract

Smokers have been reported to exhibit a low awareness of their health. However, oral health awareness in smokers has not been fully studied. Having adequate oral care and high awareness of oral health from youth is necessary to prevent the deterioration of oral health in middle and old age. The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health status and oral health behaviour in young smokers. A survey composed of a questionnaire and an oral examination was administrated to adults aged 20–29 y who consulted dentists. The relationship between smoking behaviour and oral health status and oral health behaviour in subjects was analysed. In women, though no significant relationship between smoking behaviour and the number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth was seen, current smokers had significantly more decayed teeth, missing teeth and fewer filled teeth than ex-smokers and non-smokers. Current smokers tended to practice less oral health behaviour than non-smokers. In men, there was no significant relationship between smoking behaviour and each oral health status item. These findings suggested that the smoking group had lower oral health awareness than the non-smoking group in women. Public Health (2002) 116, 341–346