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Oral health behaviours in a sample of portuguese adolescents: an educational issue

dc.contributor.authorVeiga, Nélio
dc.contributor.authorPereira, Carlos
dc.contributor.authorFerreira, Paula
dc.contributor.authorCorreia, Ilidio J.
dc.date.accessioned2015-03-20T08:32:27Z
dc.date.available2015-03-20T08:32:27Z
dc.date.issued2014
dc.description.abstractIntroduction: Oral health education is an important issue that should be given to children and adolescents, allowing the acquisition of correct oral health behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral health behaviors among a sample of portuguese adolescents and verify the association with socio-demographic factors, in order to analyze the main needs related with oral health education to improve oral health status among adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed with a sample of 447 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old, attending a public school in Sátão, Portugal. A self-administered questionnaire was applied questioning about socio-demographic factors and oral health behaviors to each adolescent in the classroom. Prevalence was expressed in proportions and crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to measure the strength of association between oral health behaviors and socio-demographic factors. Results: The prevalence of tooth brushing (twice-a-day or more) was 90.6%. Five point eight percent of adolescents reported daily flossing, more frequent among female gender (female, OR = 2.03, 95% CI = (1.35 to 3.05)) and adolescents older than 15 years (>15 years, OR = 1.90, 95% CI = (1.24 to 2.92)). Sixty-seven percent had at least one dental appointment in the previous twelve months. The prevalence of dental appointments was associated with the father’s professional situation (unemployed, OR = 0.33, 95% CI = (0.17 to 0.65)) and crowding index (>1, OR = 0.4, 95% CI = (0.16 to 0.98)). Thirty-two point nine percent of adolescents referred having at least one episode of dental pain during their lives. Conclusion: Considering the results of the present study that show the need of improvement of some aspects related with oral health among adolescents, oral health community programs and primary preventive strategies, such as improvement of oral health education in schools should be considered in order to reduce the risk level of oral diseases and develop better oral health behaviors.por
dc.identifier.citationVeiga N, Pereira C, Ferreira P, Correia IJ. Oral health behaviours in a sample of portuguese adolescents: an educational issue. Health. 2014;6:1749-59.por
dc.identifier.doi10.4236/health.2014.614207
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.19/2709
dc.language.isoengpor
dc.peerreviewedyespor
dc.publisherScientific Researchpor
dc.relation.publisherversionhttp://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=48183#.VQrzGo6sV8Epor
dc.subjectOral healthpor
dc.subjectSaúde oralpor
dc.subjectEducationpor
dc.subjectEducaçãopor
dc.subjectOral hygienepor
dc.subjectHigiene oralpor
dc.subjectSocio-demographic factorspor
dc.subjectFactores socio-demográficospor
dc.subjectAdolescentpor
dc.subjectAdolescentespor
dc.subjectPrimary preventionpor
dc.subjectPrevenção primáriapor
dc.titleOral health behaviours in a sample of portuguese adolescents: an educational issuepor
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.endPage1759por
oaire.citation.startPage1749por
oaire.citation.titleHealthpor
oaire.citation.volume6por
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspor
rcaap.typearticlepor

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