Do Dental Self-Care Habits Correlate with Oral Health？  

作　　者：Am H. Eliasson Georgia G. Rogers Mariam D. Kashani Marina N. Vernalis 

机构地区：[1]Integrative Cardiac Health Project, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda 20889, MD, USA [2]Surgeon General for Dental Public Health, Office of the Surgeon General, US Army, Falls Church 21010, VA, USA

出　　处：《Journal of Health Science》2014年第9期428-435,共8页健康科学（英文版）

摘　　要：Research evidence substantiating benefits of dental self-care habits is surprisingly limited. This study evaluated associations between dental self-care behaviors and oral health, specifically toothbrushing, flossing, rinsing, chewing xylitol gum, and diet. Soldiers recently deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan had dental examinations and answered questionnaires on dental self-care habits. The DoD Oral Health and Readiness Classification System was used to categorize oral health （see manuscript for definitions）. Correlations were assessed between self-care habits and dental classification. Of 266 soldiers, 43 （16%） were Class 1 （excellent）, 191 （72%） Class 2 （acceptable）, 18 （7%） Class 3 （poor）, and 14 （5%） Class 4 （unknown）. Only 63% of soldiers brushed twice or more per day and only half flossed once or more per day. Dental classification improved with toothbrushing （P = 0.05） and adherence to a Mediterranean diet （P = 0.04）. Flossing trended toward correlation （P = 0.11）. Dental classification did not correlate with mouth rinse or xylitol chewing gum. These research findings help fill an evidence gap that toothbrushing and flossing in addition to a healthful eating pattem are associated with improved oral health.

关 键 词：Dental self-care oral health TOOTHBRUSHING demal floss diet. 

分 类 号：R161[医药卫生—公共卫生与预防医学]