What type of study is this?

This is a Cross-Sectional Study study.

October 19, 2025Open Access

Oral Health Practices of Dental Professionals Towards Self-Oral Care: A Cross-Sectional Study

Key Points

The study highlights that 77.67% of dental professionals use soft-bristle toothbrushes regularly, indicating their preference for gentler cleaning methods.
Among participants, 75.40% reported using fluoridated toothpaste, revealing a common recognition of its benefits in oral health.
The modified bass technique was the most commonly employed brushing technique, suggesting an awareness of effective brushing methods.
Findings indicate a gap in understanding brushing force, with about 75% of participants unaware of proper techniques for assessment and application.

Abstract

Background: Dentists are considered positive role models and play a vital part in imparting effective oral health knowledge to patients and communities. Hence, a study was conducted to assess the attitude and practices of dental professionals towards self-oral care and their knowledge of toothbrushing force, which is widely not discussed. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 309 dental professionals, including undergraduates, interns, postgraduates, senior residents, faculty, and private practitioners in Lucknow, India, from January 2024 to June 2024 using a semi-structured self-administered questionnaire. Results: The mean age of the participants was 28 years, with more females (195; 63.11%) than males (114; 36.89%). A total of 240 (77.67%) participants used soft-bristle toothbrushes, and 233 (75.40%) used fluoridated toothpaste. The most common brushing technique was the modified bass technique (234; 75.73%). More than half of the participants always considered and applied the correct force during brushing from their point of view, while the rest did not consider it. About three-fourths were unaware of assessing and implementing brushing force, while the remaining 81 participants provided various responses, including subjective self-evaluation, flaring of bristles due to excessive pressure, injury to gum/enamel/teeth, and using sensing devices. Female participants were better than their male counterparts in terms of following a few oral hygiene practices regularly, in terms of using fluoridated toothpaste, and in the context of skipping toothbrushing in the morning and tobacco practices. Conclusion: The study provided valuable insights for dental professionals regarding their attitudes and practices towards oral hygiene. The unique part of the study was that it focused on getting details on assessing and implementing the toothbrush force.

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