- Title
- Oral hygiene habits of a group of Sydney adolescents
- Creator
- Diogo, Vitor; Wallace, Janet; Taylor, Jane
- Relation
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Dental and Oral Health Therapy Vol. October 2016, Issue 1, p. 12-16
- Publisher
- Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists' Association
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2016
- Description
- Objectives: To identify the oral hygiene habits of a group of Sydney adolescents. Methods: Data was obtained via a component of the 'Habits, Knowledge and Attitudes of Oral Health of Adolescents' (HKAOHA) Questionnaire from students attending the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts in 2014. Frequency of toothbrushing, time of day and instruments used were the variables described using frequency of distribution by sex and age. Chi-square tests and cross-tabulations were used to compare the data. Results: 530 (60%) students responded to the questionnaire. 78.4% of respondents reported brushing their teeth at least twice a day and 4.3% reported not brushing every day. 98.4% used a toothbrush and toothpaste, and nearly half of these also used other aids. Most participants (77%) brushed in the morning and before bed. Significant differences between the sexes (p < 0.01) were noted within the age groups but these were not seen between age groups. Conclusions: The majority of the surveyed adolescents reported good oral hygiene practices. Toothbrushing frequency was generally good leading us to believe that focus on oral health programs in this population might need to shift to interdental cleaning, use of fluoride and early diagnosis of dental caries. Additional research using standardized outcomes is needed to enable a better understanding of adolescent¿s oral health motivators to assist the development of effective oral health promotion strategies.
- Subject
- oral hygiene; dental hygiene; habits; behaviours; adolescents
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1345118
- Identifier
- uon:29569
- Identifier
- ISSN:2200-3584
- Language
- eng
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