Oral Hygiene Practices, Status, and Oral Health-Seeking Behaviors of Students at the College of Health and Well-Being, Kintampo, Ghana

Israel P. Gamba, Michael A. Yelibora, Angela-Ruth Buabeng, David A. Ayim, Emmanuel B. Osei-Bonsu

Oral health, toothbrush, gingivitis, periodontal disease, dental caries

Oral health knowledge is an essential prerequisite for health-related practices, and studies have shown that there is an association between increased knowledge and better oral health. Those who have assimilated the knowledge and feel a sense of personal control over their oral health are more likely to adopt self-care practices. The purpose of this study was to assess the oral hygiene practices, status and the oral health status of screened students for the 2020/2021 academic year at the College of Health and Well-being, Kintampo. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed for the study with a sample size of 380 participants.

From the study, 212(55.8%) brush their teeth twice daily while 162(42.6%) brush their teeth once daily. More than half 348(91.6%) of the participants responded that they use toothbrushes and toothpaste in cleaning their teeth. 197(51.8%) of the participants have visited the dentist before out of this number, 76(38.6%) of them complained of toothache whiles 44(22.3%) visited the dentist for a routine dental check-up. The majority 67(34%) of the respondents went to the dentist for tooth extraction. With respect to the oral health status of the participants, whiles majority, 72.6% of the respondents had plaque deposits on examination.

Although over half of the participants brushed twice daily, there was high prevalence of plaque deposits. Dental visits were problem-driven with the commonest treatment being extractions and the commonest complain being toothache. This highlights a reliance on curative rather than preventive care, underscoring the urgent need for stronger oral health education and promotion interventions.

https://doi.org/10.31871/WJRR.21.2.6