Recognition And Behavior Related To Oral Health Among Undergraduate Students Of Shandong University

Objective:This study is aimed to investigate the recognition and behaviors related to oral health among students in Shandong University, to analyze the difference in the recognition of oral health among different grades, different gender, and different campuses of these students, and to provide a theoretical basis for future oral health education.Methods:A questionnaire was designed based on "the Third National Oral Health Survey Report" [1]. Stratified cluster sampling was used to select volunteers, and 1500 non-dental undergraduate students from 2 Campuses and 3 different grades were enrolled in our study.The questionnaire included:(1) the student's basic information, such as age, grade, gender, monthly living expenses, etc.; (2) Oral Health Awareness, including the recognition of caries and periodontal diseases; (3) oral health behaviors, including the frequency and duration of tooth brushing, the method of tooth brushing and the type of the toothpaste used during tooth brushing; (4) the methods of obtaining oral health knowledge; and (5) dental history/previous dental care.Data were analyzed using SPSS13.0 statistical software, and chi-square test was used to test significance. Values of p lower than 0.05 were considered statistically significant.Results: 1.Basic information:In this study,1500 questionnaires were spread out and responded by 1500 non-dental students in Shandong University. Among these questionnaires,1227 were completely finished by students, and were considered valid and used for further statistical analysis. The age of these 1227 students ranged between 17 to 24 years, with an average age of 18.95 years. Among these students, 656 (53.5%) were male, and 571 (46.5%) were female. Moreover,428 of these students were freshmen,438 were sophomore, and 361 were junior. In addition,738 of these students came from Central Campus, and 489 came from Software Campus.2. Oral health knowledge and oral health behavior of these 1227 students:47.9% of the students knew that dental plaque is the etiological factor of dental caries; 23.5% of the students knew the definition of dental plaque; 74.8% of the students knew that sugar or soft drinks can cause dental caries; 62.5% of the students knew the benefit of the fluoride added in the toothpaste; 69.4% of the students knew that gingival bleeding is abnormal; 24.8% of the students knew that gingivitis is the main reason of gingival bleeding; 55.6% of the students knew that the best way to remove dental calculus is to receive dental cleaning by a dentist. The survey also revealed that only 61.9% of the students brush their teeth twice daily or more, and about 48.7% of the students use fluoride toothpaste.In addition,21.1% of the students brush their teeth for three minutes or more,63.7% of the students use soft-bristled toothbrush, and 76.4% of the students brush their teeth vertically. Among the students surveyed, 71.5% replace their toothbrush in 3 month or less, and 11.0% have their dental health evaluated regularly. When the students have painless caries, only 37.7% will seek help from the dentist.3. From grade 1 to grade 3, the oral health knowledge of the students is enriched and oral health behavior improved when these students received longer education in Shandong University.4. Female students have more oral health knowledge and show better oral health behavior when compared with male students.5. The oral health knowledge and oral health behavior of students from Central Campus is better than those from Software Campus. Conclusion:The undergraduate students are still short of fundamental oral health knowledge and have no adequate professional instructions on daily dental care. Therefore, a carefully designed oral health education program should be systematically incorporated in university educational system, which should be specifically targeted to students from different grade, different campuses, and of different gender. It is necessary to promote early dental examination, early dental prevention and early dental treatment among students in the university and college.