2020 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 49-57
In Japan, few universities provide students with regular dental checkups, and dental health education is not mandatory.
The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between the dental health behavior of non-medical university students and the dental health education they have received in the past. The study also examined how an intervention that uses a tool for counting intraoral bacteria affects dental health behavior.
The study was conducted with 50 non-medical university students. Before and after the intervention, the students completed an anonymous self-administered survey. For the pre-intervention survey, intraoral bacteria count was measured using a bacteria counter, and the participants were informed of the results.
The results of the study indicated that while there are several school-based opportunities for dental education during elementary school, these progressively decrease with age. Findings also suggested that daily oral hygiene behavior practiced at home during childhood predicts dental behavior in adulthood and also shapes the oral environment. Additionally, most of the students reported that measuring intraoral bacteria count was effective for themselves.
In view of the results obtained, it is necessary to raise awareness about the effectiveness of home-based dental health education during childhood, and to provide more dental education opportunities for university students, who currently have few such opportunities. The results also imply that a dental education approach which uses a tool for measuring intraoral bacteria count is effective for encouraging favorable changes in dental health behavior.
