School Environment Factors affecting Toothbrushing in Korean Adolescents: NYPI Cross-Sectional Survey

Seon-Hui Kwak1,2   Bo-Mi Shin1,2,*   

1Department of Dental Hygiene, College of Dentistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung-si 25457, Korea
2Research Institute of Oral Science, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung-si 25457, Korea

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect tooth brushing after lunch in Korean adolescents. Methods: This study used raw data from the national youth policy institute cross-sectional survey. The subjects were selected from 8,147 people who responded to the question to check whether they had brushed their teeth after lunch for the last 7 days, and were classified into elementary, middle, and high school students and analyzed by group. Independent variables were selected by demographic, socioeconomic, health behavior, health awareness, and school environment factors. Results: After adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors, elementary school students brushed their teeth after lunch 1.24 times more often when the school bathroom was clean (p=0.013). Among middle and high school students, when they were interested in health, middle school students brushed their teeth after lunch 1.63 (p<0.001) times more, and high school students 1.74 (p<0.001) times more. Conclusions: It was found that health behavior, health awareness, and school environment factors affect adolescents' brushing practice after lunch. Accordingly, it is required to seek strategies for oral health projects that consider the characteristics of Korean adolescents by grade.

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