Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
FDI Congress, Bangkok, Tayland, 23 - 26 Eylül 2015, ss.90
Aim and purpose: Optimum oral health depends on the individual
oral hygiene practices. The aim of the present study was to evalu-
ate oral care habits, attitudes and awareness of oral hygiene
among young population.
Materials and method: A sample of 2,740 university students (ages
between 19 and 22) from 5 different geopolitical zones of Turkey
were enrolled. 14-items structured questionnaire was conducted to
evaluate oral hygiene practices and dental care service utilization.
The data were analyzed using “SPSS 19.0 for Windows” software
programme.
Results: 2740 written questionnaires were analysed. 64.9% of the
students reported brushing at least twice-a-day while 28% once-
a-day. 38% stated to use mouthwash (72% randomly, 15% once
a day), 26.5% flossing after brushing while 4.7% additionally
using interdental brush. Dietary regulation was also assessed and
showed that 45% were having regular 3 time-meals while 8.6%
having snack meals in between the regular meals. 31.8% stated to
chew sugar-free gums after meals. 19.3% reported having dentist
visit regularly once-a-year while 13.5% having visited only in case
of emergency. 51.6% were instructed professional oral hygiene
motivation whereas 18.2% having professional cleaning once-a-
year. 22.4% of students are smoking and 51.6% are complaint of
halitosis beside 51.2% having gingival bleeding. Frequencies did
not differ significantly among the regions evaluated (p > 0.05).
Summary and conclusions: Questionnaire results showed that a
positive state of oral hygiene habits and behaviour improvement
was observed among the university students. Intellectual/educa-
tional level seemed to have a positive impact on the awareness of
oral health care among the young population.