Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the differences in oral self-care levels between Japanese dental hygiene students and general nursing students in 1999, and compare them with a similar study in 1990. METHODS: The examination was mainly based upon responses to a questionnaire titled "Hiroshima University--Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI)". Higher scores of the HU-DBI indicate better oral health attitudes/behaviour. RESULTS: The mean HU-DBI score of the 2nd-year dental hygiene students was significantly greater than that of the 2nd-year nursing students (9.56 and 6.65, respectively; p<0.001), and much higher than those of the 1st-year students at each course (dental hygiene course; 6.30, nursing course; 5.88). Except for the 2nd-year dental hygiene class, there were no significant differences in the HU-DBI score between the 1990 and 1999 subgroups of each class. About 1/3 of the 2nd-year nursing students reported a belief that they may eventually require false teeth, while 6% of the 2nd-year dental hygiene students held this belief. More than 60% of this study sample stated that they put off going to the dentist until they had toothache. The 2nd-year dental hygiene students were more likely to have this attitude than their 1990 peers. Flossing was not popular among the nursing students in either 1990 or 1999. CONCLUSION: Although the difference in the HU-DBI score across time was not major, the variation in HU-DBI and the favourable attitudes/behaviour toward oral health appeared to reflect the differences in schooling between student hygienists and student nurses.
Kawamura et al. (Mon,) studied this question.