Assessment of oral - dental health status: using Health Belief Model (HBM) in first¬ grade guidance school students in Hamadan

The evaluation of plaque and tooth decay represents the oral health status of society. Lack of oral hygiene, can adversely affect the health of students. This study was designed with the aim to determine the oral- dental health status of the first grade guidance students in Hamadan: using Health Belief Model (HBM).

This was a descriptive- analytical study which was conducted on 268 students of first grade guidance in Hamadan by multi-stage stratified sampling method, which was selected during the school year (2011-2012). Data collection was a questionnaire designed according to health Belief Model (severity, susceptibility, benefits, barriers perceived and self-efficacy); knowledge, dental health behaviors, checklist DMFT and dental plaque.The data were analyzed by SPSS16.

The mean DMFT was 2.25 ±1.74.The plaque dental index (PI) was reported 78.64±9.There was a statistically significant relation between, gender with both index (p=0.000).There was not a statistically significant relation between the mean scores of knowledge) p=0.4 (,health behaviors)p=0.07,(susceptibility(p=0.09),barriers)p=0.900, benefits perceived)p=0.09), and self- efficacy)p=0.18(but there was a statistically significant relation with perceived severity (p=0.003(and cues to action(p=0.01). Also, There was a statistically significant relation between dental health behaviors with perceived susceptibility(p=0.02),perceived barriers (p=0.001), cues to action (p=0.05), and self-efficacy (p=0.005) but it had no statistically significant relation with perceived severity (p=0.83) perceived benefits (p=0.40) and knowledge (p=0.94).

In this study the amount of DMFT and Dental plaque, among three educational regions, in the girl students’ educational regions, was more than the boy students and the other regions. Therefore, appropriate educational interventions based on behavioral theories and models such as HBM are suggested to increase knowledge, performance in the prevention of dental decay and to improve oral health among this group.