Oral Health Care Behavior Research Articles

Turkish Women’s Self-Reported Knowledge and Behavior towards Oral Health during Pregnancy

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate oral health care knowledge and behavior of women during pregnancy. Subjects and Methods: The study population consisted of 351 mothers with children under 3 months of age who presented at Gülhane Medical Academy’s Department of Pediatrics for a routine child check-up. Mothers were asked to complete a questionnaire about their knowledge and behavior regarding dental care during pregnancy. Results: All the women who participated in the study had dental insurance, and most of them had high levels of education. Of the 351 mothers, 263 (75%) had heard about possible connections between oral health and pregnancy outcome, and 165 (47%) believed tooth and periodontal problems could affect pregnancy outcome. However, 256 (73%) women still believed that calcium would be drawn out of their teeth by the developing baby, and 151 (43%) believed in the erroneous statement ‘A tooth for a baby’. 241 (68.7%) women had experienced oral health problems during pregnancy; however, only 48 (13.7%) visited a dentist during their pregnancy. Conclusions: Turkish women, despite having knowledge that adverse pregnancy events may be related to dental and periodontal problems, did not seek oral health care during pregnancy. This suggests the need to better educate medical providers to inform pregnant women to obtain oral health care during pregnancy.

出産前後の口腔内状態とオーラルケアに関する調査（2） ―妊婦のつわりの実態について―

出産前後の口腔内状態とオーラルケアに関する調査（2） ―妊婦のつわりの実態について―

出産前後の口腔内状態とオーラルケアに関する調査（１） ―妊婦の実態について

出産前後の口腔内状態とオーラルケアに関する調査（１） ―妊婦の実態について

방문건강관리인력의 구강건강지식과 실천

본 논문은 공공의료보건기관에서 근무하는 방문건강인력의 구강보건에 대한 전문성 제고의 목적에서 구강건강 지식 및 실천에 대해 조사하였다. 연구 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 구강건강지식은 치주질환 67%, 치아우식증 68%, 일반치과지식은 68.4%이상의 정답률을 보였다. 둘째, 구강건강실천은 예방목적의 치과방문에서 50%이상, 치료를 위해서 60.1%가 치과방문을 하는 것으로 조사되었다. 치석제거는 46.6%가 정기적으로 받는 것으로 나타났고, 치과치료이용을 89.6%가 종합병원·치과(병)의원을 이용하는 것으로 조사되었다. 칫솔질의 경우 3회 이상은 89.5%, 구강위생용품으로는 치실을 58%로 가장 많이 사용하였으며, 칫솔질 방법으로 회전법을 시행하는 대상자는 46%로 조사되었다. 셋째, 일반적 특성에 따른 구강건강지식은 연령(F=5.25, p<0.01), 보건의료직 경력(F=3.94, p<0.01)에 따라, 구강건강실천은 방문보건경력에 따라 유의한 관련성을 보였다(F=3.20, p<0.05). The purpose of this study was to survey visiting health care personnel who worked for their public medical health institutions and thereby investigate their oral health knowledge and behavior. Findings of this study are summarized as follow; First, our visiting health care personnel had a significant tendency toward higher score at correct answers to questions about oral health knowledge (mean knowledge about periodontal disease: 67%, mean knowledge about dental caries: 68%, mean knowledge about common dentistry: 68.4% or higher). Secondly, in terms of oral health care behavior, 50% or higher of all our visiting health care personnel visited dental clinic for preventive purposes, and 60.1% visited dental clinic for oral treatment. 46.6% of health care personnel relied on dental clinic for regular scaling services, and 89.6% relied on general hospital or dental clinic for oral treatment. 89.5% of health care personnel brushed their teeth 3 times or more per day; more than half (58%) of them preferred dental floss to other oral hygiene supplies; and 46% practiced roll technique to brush their teeth. Thirdly, health care personnel's oral health knowledge was significantly correlated with their age (F=5.25, p<0.01) and career of health care (F=3.94, p<0.01), while their oral health behavior was significantly associated with their career of visiting health care (F=3.20, p< 0.05).

Association of Perceived Quality of Life and Oral Health Among Psychiatric Outpatients

The relationship between oral health and various aspects of quality of life has gone uninvestigated in psychiatric populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 and subjective quality of life, perceptions about general health, and self-related variables. A structured interview constructed from validated instruments was administered to 113 consumers attending outpatient psychiatric care. A lower perceived oral health-related quality of life had a correlation with decreased ratings of subjective quality of life, general health disabilities, and chance and internal locus of control. Correlations between subjective and general health-related quality of life and oral health-related quality of life had not been detected in this group before. In order to improve mental health consumers' total perceived quality of life, oral health problems should be regularly addressed in the course of psychiatric care.

Factors Influencing Early Childhood Caries of Cleft Lip and/or Palate Children Aged 18 to 36 Months in Southern Thailand

To clarify whether oral health care behavior or oral cleft status influences early childhood caries in southern Thailand cleft children. A comparative cross-sectional study. A total of 138 southern Thai children aged 18 to 36 months comprised two groups of 69 participants, one with cleft lip and/or palate and controls with no cleft. All children were examined for early childhood caries by using the severity (DMFT/tooth) index. A structured interview was conducted among caregivers, and then multiple regression analysis was applied. Children with oral clefts had a larger number of early childhood caries (ECC) and poorer feeding habits than those without. From a structured questionnaire, the caregivers of children with clefts exercised poorer oral health behavior than those of the controls, but the cleft status was not an important factor for caries prevalence when oral health behaviors were controlled. Multivariate analysis showed that sweetened bottled milk consumption, night-time feeding habit, and frequent sugary food consumption were the variables significantly associated with dental caries. Children with oral clefts in southern Thailand had greater caries experience when compared with noncleft subjects. However, cleft status was not significant for ECC, and night-time feeding habit was the most important factor for higher ECC in children with clefts.

Teenagers' oral health attitudes and behavior in Japan: comparison by sex and age group

We investigated sex and age group differences in attitudes to oral health among school-age children using an Oral Self-Care Appraisal (OSCA) to systematically determine changes in oral health knowledge, attitude, and behavior across developmental stages. The subjects (n = 1584) were stratified after random sampling so that each school grade analyzed contained 88 boys and 88 girls. Factor analysis was undertaken to identify a set of underlying factors, with 10 factors considered in the cross-sectional study. Our results showed that the factors toothbrushing, persistence, and sociability were more predominant in primary school children than in junior high and senior high school students. Furthermore, postponement of visiting the dentist and resignation to one's own dental cavities became more predominant in proportion to the level of school education. Girls had significantly higher scores than boys for desire to improve oral care, dental anxiety, dependency on snacks, toothbrushing, concern over number of cavities, and sociability. Together, the results indicated that the oral health care behavior of girls was better than that of boys, and that the tendency to postpone visiting the dentist and resignation to one's own dental cavities increased markedly with age.

Challenges in geriatric oral health research methodology concerning caregivers of cognitively impaired elderly adults.

Little is known about oral health care behaviors of community-dwelling, cognitively impaired elderly (CIE) persons. Few studies have been conducted regarding the actual provision of oral care for CIE persons or the attitudes and concerns about oral health among their caregivers. The CIE person's ability to perform self-care decreases over time, and the role of the caregiver in daily oral care becomes increasingly important. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the attitudes toward oral health and identify related concerns among caregivers who care for community-dwelling CIE persons. Caregivers were surveyed by means of a self-administered, mailed questionnaire. To maintain confidentiality, an intermediary was used for recruitment and data collection. Overall, 148 caregivers were invited by an intermediary to participate in the survey; only 21 (14%) consented to participate and returned the questionnaire. This paper discusses some of the numerous methodological challenges identified when an attempt was made to survey care-givers' attitudes toward and barriers to providing oral care for a dependent CIE.

Recent advances in behavioral research in geriatric dentistry.

This paper examines recent studies in behavioral science and health services aspects of geriatric dentistry. With the increased focus on special needs of older patients, researchers have become concerned with psychological and sociocultural factors that influence older people's oral health status, behavior, and attitudes. Studies of dental service utilization patterns among subgroups of the elderly, including those in long‐term care settings, will be reviewed. Research on methods to improve oral health care behaviors will be discussed, with their implications for developing oral health promotion and service delivery programs. The special oral health needs of cognitively impaired and frail elderly will be reviewed. Studies of clinical decision‐making in geriatric dentistry have been conducted. These studies have revealed significant gaps in dental professionals' knowledge and attention to the special needs of older patients. This and other aspects of behavioral research suggest the need for better methods to disseminate research findings in geriatric dentistry to clinical practice in this field. The presentation will discuss ways of improving dissemination and transfer of research findings to the clinical management of aged patients.