대학생의 구강보건교육경험 및 관심도에 따른 구강보건행태와 지식수준

Oral health behavior and knowledge according to the oral health education experience and interests of university students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oral health education experi-ence and interest in oral health on university students’ oral health behavior and oral health knowledge. This study was conducted with the purpose of demonstrating that proper oral health edu-cation programs should be developed in order to improve oral health management behavior. With regard to teeth brushing habits, the oral health care behavior of the subjects was of an overall high average value. Average figures relating to diet and prevention questions was similar. However, the average number of oral hygiene items came out lowest. Although it is good practice to brush up on oral hygiene, behavior related to oral hygiene was relatively poor. The subjects’ level of oral health knowledge contained the three items with the highest percentage of correct answers: ‘Tongue should be wiped when brushing’, ‘Brushing should be done by rotation (teeth from top to bottom and teeth from bottom to top)’, ‘Fluoride eliminates bad breath’, ‘Toothbrushes should be replaced with a new one within 3 months’, and ‘Knowledge of brushing’. The knowledge level of fluoride and oral hygiene products was low. The study demonstrated that those with a greater experience of oral health education took better oral health care, in terms of brushing and prevention. However, behavior in terms of diet and food showed almost no difference and it was hard to find patterns of good behavior. Experience in oral health education has led to a high level of ‘interest’ oral health care.