Predicting Oral Health Behavior using the Health Promotion Model among School Students: a Cross-sectional Survey

Background: The mean of DMFT (D=decayed teeth or untreated caries, M=missing teeth, F=filled teeth and T=permanent teeth) has been increasing from 1957 to 2015 years in Iran. The current survey aimed to test the power of health promotion model for predicting the oral health behavior among high-school students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 482 high school students in Gorgan city, Iran. Multi-cluster sampling was used to recruit the samples. A researcher-made questionnaire based on HPM was implemented to collect data. To analyze, SPSS-18 and statistical tests, including t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient and univariate and multivariate regression models were used. Results: A total of 482 high-school students including 255 (52.9%) male and 227 (47.1%) with mean age of 16.02 ± 0.5 were investigated. The highest and lowest prevalent positive oral health behavior were tooth brushing (73%) and using fluidized oral irrigator (3.6%), respectively. Except for perceived barriers (with negative correlation), all constructs of HBM were positively related to oral health behaviors. Self-efficacy was the strongest predictor of oral health behavior (β=0.653) (r=0.541, P<0.05). Conclusion: HPM seems likely beneficial to design and develop oral health behaviors among students. Self-efficacy and perceived benefits should also be noticed to promote students oral health behaviors.