How Much Do They Know? Oral Hygiene Attitude and Periodontal Awareness in Iraqi Adults

Fathi Alanbari, Basma

	How Much Do They Know? Oral Hygiene Attitude and Periodontal Awareness in Iraqi Adults
Journal of baghdad college of dentistry
Article 1, Volume 29, Issue 3, 2017, Pages 31-38
Author
Basma Fathi Alanbari
Abstract
Background: The scarce literature regarding oral hygiene attitude and periodontal awareness in Iraqi adults warranted the conduction of this study in order to provide a public profile and a baseline data for further researches. Aims of the study: assessing the oral hygiene attitude and periodontal awareness in a sample of Iraqi adults. Materials and Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 500 adults. Results: Out of the 500 questionnaires distributed, 482 were included in the study.92% of the sample practiced tooth brushing, 69% out of them reported a daily brushing pattern with variable frequency,69% of the sample did not receive oral hygiene education from any source ,more than half of the sample 60 % used the horizontal brushing method, interdental aids was utilized by 42% of the sample with the dental floss being the commonest type 52%, mouthwash used by 37% and tongue cleaning was uncommon as only 22 % of the sample perform it. 78% of the sample did not know what dental plaque is while dental caries were well known by almost the entire sample 98%. 93% reported having gingival bleeding with only 5% out of them referred to the poor oral hygiene as the causative factor. The motive for seeking periodontal therapy for 80% of the sample was restoring the gingival esthetics. Conclusions: The public periodontal awareness and knowledge is still poor in Iraq, the solution requires shared resources and multiple approaches
Keywords
Oral hygiene attitude; periodontal awareness; tooth brushing; Iraqi adults

Statistics Article View: 58 PDF Download: 5