بررسی برخی عوامل مرتبط با بهداشت دهان و دندان بر اساس الگوی اعتقاد بهداشتی در دانش‌آموزان دختر دبیرستانهای شهر یزد

Background and Aim: Oral diseases are among the most prevalent diseases in the world, which usually begin during adolescence but oral health can reduce them to a great extent .This cross-sectional study which aimed at determining factors related to oral health in high school female students in Yazd on the basis of HBM (Health Belief model) was used as a framework in order to analyze the related factors of oral health behavior (OHB) during the school year 2005-2006. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional (descriptive and analytical) study 201 female high school students in Yazd were surveyed. Multistage randomized sampling was used. Means of data collection was a questionnaire designed according to oral health beliefs or OHB (perceived severity, susceptibility, benefits, barriers) .The obtained data was analyzed by means of SPSS software, descriptive statistics, and Pearson coefficient tests, variance analysis, and Tukey test and P0.05 was taken as the significant level. Results: The subjects of the study aged 14-17 years with a mean of 15.2±0.8 years. Mean of perceived barriers of the students whose fathers were clerks was 9.77 and that of students whose fathers were labourers was 11.35.Statistical variance analysis test showed a significant relationship between these two (P=0.006, df=2, F=5.306). Most (65.5%) of the students brushed once a day, 37.5% of them used dental floss, and 11.1% saw a dentist every 6 months. Pearson coefficient test showed a significant relationship between perceived severity and oral health behavior/ OHB (P=0.036, r=0.148). Besides, perceived barriers were correlated with OHB (P=0.012, r=-0.176). No significant association was found between sensitivity and perceived benefits on one hand and behavior on the other. Conclusion: In this study, perceived severity and barriers showed a significant correlation with the expected behavior. There was no significant relationship between sensitivity and perceived benefits with behavior. Moreover, it was found that mean grade of the students at perceived “severity”, “sensitivity”, and “benefits” was favorable but their behavior was not favorable with regard to it. It seems as if other factors, beyond these beliefs, are effective in the occurrence and quality of oral health behavior. Therefore, more extensive research is recommended in respect of this.