Dietary habits and oral health related behaviors in relation to DMFT indexes of a group of young adult patients attending a dental school.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present study was to investigate the dietary habits and oral health related behaviors in relation to the dental health status in terms of decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT index) of a group of young adults attending to a dental school located in a major city in Turkey. STUDY DESIGN A total of 416 young adults (247 females and 169 males) with an age range of 18-25 (Mean 23.2 sd 0.97) attending the Oral Diagnosis department participated in the study. The patients completed a questionnaire including questions about demographic factors, dietary habits and oral health related behaviors. Subsequently, the DMFT index and plaque index was calculated. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U/ Kruskal Wallis Variance analysis, Chi-square/Fisher's Exact tests and multiple linear regression analysis were used for statistical analysis of the data when applicable. RESULTS According to the results of the study, approximately 70% of the patients had regular main meals and a very high snacking rate (76.9%) was present. Although not at a high rate, most of the patients brushed their teeth regularly twice a day (44.2%) and approximately half used other hygiene aids in addition to brushing (43.8%). The median of the DMFT index was 5 and a majority of the patients had moderate plaque accumulation which could be seen with the naked eye (45.0%). Dental plaque had the most significant effect on the DMFT index. CONCLUSION In conclusion, advice, including importance of regularity of main meals, decrease in snacking frequency, regular brushing twice a day and the use of other oral hygiene aids for the elimination of dental plaque would be helpful to enhance the dietary habits and oral health related behaviors of young adult Turkish patients.