Oral Health Behavior of Adults in Relation to Age Groups

DOI 11 Citations 25 References

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  • 成人の口腔保健行動とその年齢特性

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Abstract

Oral health behavior, such as tooth cleaning, food intake, and social functions, is essential to one's daily life and to promote growth and development from birth to adult. The aim of this study was to assess of age characteristics of adult population in regard to oral health behavior. This survey was caried out from May to July in 1994 with a questionnaire survey for 673 adult workors aged 20 to 59 yrs in the Kanto district of Japan. The age groups were -24 yrs, 25-34 yrs, 35-44 yrs, 45-54 yrs, and 55-59 yrs. Attitudes and oral health behavior were evaluated for each age group. Statistical analysis for these data was performed with ANOVA and Chi-square test. Three items in the questionnaire (talking about oral health in one's daily life, interest in health information in newspaper colums, and the frequency of observation of one's oral health status) reflected the intensity of the interest in oral health. The interest in oral health in middle age was greater than in young adults. For the items of face and mouth apperance and chewing ability in relation to self assessment, 10-20% of the subjects under 24 yrs, and 20-30% of the 55-59-year group reported themselves relatively satisfied. In regard to the recognition of terms related to oral health, more than 50% of subjects of all age groups knew the 3 terms "dental calculus", "dental plaque", and "gum disease". These words indicated that periodontal disease was relatively well known to these adults. Tooth cleaning in young adults was more common in practice in daily life than in the middle age population. On the other hand, acceptance of dental visits and regular dental checks for young adults were less than in the middle age population. These results suggested that age was a key factor in attitudes toward oral health, and that oral health preservation also played an important role for general health promotion throughout life.

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