Factors Associated with Non-Attendance at Dental Preventive Care in Slovak High School Students

Czech and Slovak Dental Students' Oral Health-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviours (KAB): Multi-Country Cross-Sectional Study

Dentists play a key role in the primary prevention of oral diseases and related systemic complications; therefore, their views on behavioural interventions need to be aligned with the current agendas for oral health. Likewise, dental students’ oral health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours (KAB) are of practical importance, as they are the future opinion leaders for oral health in their respective communities. A cross-sectional survey-based study was designed to evaluate the oral health KAB of dental students in both the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The study utilized translated versions of the Hiroshima University Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI), and it aimed to recruit students from all Czech and Slovak dental schools. A total of 487 students were included in this study, out of which 372 (76.4%) were females, 271 (55.6%) were enrolled in preclinical years, 68 (14%) reported smoking tobacco at least once a week, and 430 (88.3%) reported problematic internet use. The mean HU-DBI score of Czech and Slovak dental students (8.18 ± 1.80) was comparable with the previously reported scores of dental students in Nordic and Western European countries. Czech students (9.34 ± 1.29) had a significantly higher score than their Slovak counterparts (7.56 ± 1.73). In both countries, preclinical students (8.04 vs. 8.35), the students who reported tobacco smoking (7.63 vs. 8.27), and those who reported problematic internet use (8.11 vs. 8.70) had significantly lower HU-DBI scores than their counterparts, respectively. In the Czech Republic, the significant increases in HU-DBI scores occurred after the first academic year when the students received preventive dentistry courses; therefore, one can put forward that early implementation of preventive elements in undergraduate dental curricula may yield better and more sustainable oral health gains for the students. Future research on Czech and Slovak dental curricula need to re-evaluate the oral hygiene and anti-smoking components and their impact on students’ views and attitudes.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in Oral Health-related Behaviors in 18-Year-Old Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study

AIMS

This study aimed to assess the socioeconomic inequalities in oral health-related behaviors, such as frequency of toothbrushing, flossing, and dental appointments, in 18-year-old Portuguese adolescents.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data were obtained from the third National Prevalence Study of Oral Health Diseases (III ENPDO), which was carried out in Portugal between 2012 and 2013. This study included 1075 adolescents aged 18 years. The information on socioeconomic status and oral health behaviors was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess the association between social determinants and oral health-related behaviors. Unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios and confidence intervals were estimated.

RESULTS

The results found that father's educational level and both father's and mother's employment status were associated with adolescents not visiting a dental professional before the last 12 months. Male sex, living in a rural area, and lower adolescent's educational level were associated with toothbrushing less than twice a day. Furthermore, father's educational level and mother's employment status were also associated with a lower frequency of toothbrushing, whereas only mother's employment status was associated with a lower frequency of flossing.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrated that socioeconomic inequalities in oral health-related behaviors of 18-year-old adolescents were associated with parental employment status and educational level, adolescent's educational level, sex, and residential zone.