Motivating and Inhibiting Factors to Oral-Dental Health Behavior in Adolescents: a Cross-Sectional Study

Background Oral-dental diseases, especially tooth decay, are among the most common diseases in the world which usually begin in adolescence. Oral health during this period of life has a huge impact on the reduction of dental problems. This study aimed to determine motivating and inhibiting factors to oral-dental health behavior in adolescents. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional which had a descriptive and analytical design was conducted on 10-12th grade students in Kashan city, Iran. Using multi-stage sampling method and based on sampling size formula, a total of 290 of the students were randomly selected from the schools and were enrolled into the study. Then they received a research-made questionnaire containing questions about the knowledge and motivating and inhibiting factors to oral-dental health behavior. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS V.20 by independent t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient. Results Of all, 62.8% of students brushed their teeth at least once a day. Moreover, 11.7% used dental floss once a day and 6.6% visited a dentist every six months. Oral-dental health behavior had a significant relationship with gender (P<0.05). So that, of all 48.1 percent of boys and, 51.9 percent of girls had oral-dental health behavior score 50 and higher. In addition, there was a significantly negative relationship between inhibiting factors and oral-dental health behavior (P=0.001, r=-0.262). However, no significant relationship was observed between motivating factors and oral-dental health behavior (P> 0.05). Conclusion When designing educational plans and interventions for improving oral-dental health behavior in students, it is necessary to adopt measures to enhance motivating factors and eliminate inhibiting factors.