Determinants of Dental Health Behaviors of Iranian Students Based on the Health Belief Model (HBM)

Several factors affect oral and dental hygiene and therefore general health. This study used the health belief model (HBM) to explore factors influencing dental health behaviors of students in Teheran, Iran. A cross-sectional study design was used. The participants were 400 male high-school students in district 5 in Tehran selected through multistage stratified random sampling. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data, which included the following measures of the HBM: perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. A multiple regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation were run to detect potential correlations between the independent variables and dependent variable. All 400 students completed the study. The results of the linear regression analysis showed that perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action accounted for the highest percent of total variance observed in dental health behaviors. The total HBM constructs and demographic variables explained 29% of the variance in dental health behaviors. The current study provides evidence that oral and dental hygiene can be promoted by reducing perceived barriers and enhancing oral and dental hygiene self-efficacy.