Abstract
Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery University of Abuja
Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria.
Abstract
Aim: To assess oral hygiene practices in patients attending the General Outpatient Department (GOPD) of the
University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional study of patients attending the GOPD of University of Abuja
Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigeria. A semi structured pretested questionnaire was administered to
416 consecutively recruited adult patients that consented to participate in the study. Data collected were analyzed
using SPSS version 23.
Results: The age ranged from 18 to 60 years with the mean age being 33.22 years (SD = 10.11). About 55% of the
participants were females while 45.4% were males. Most (98.6%) of the respondents used toothbrush to clean
their teeth and 62.0% brush their teeth twice a day. Only very few (1.7%) used dental floss to clean the interdental
area while most respondents (92.1%) used toothpicks.. Half of the respondents brush for over 3 minutes.
Irrespective of age groups or gender, most of our respondents (64.2%) preferred soft brush while and 28.1%
preferred hard toothbrush. Just a little above half of our respondents (52.2%) preferred using tooth brush with big
head while 40.1% preferred brushes with small head. While a very good number (at least 93.9%) replace their
toothbrushes within 6 months. only one hundred and forty (33.7%) of our respondents had ever visited dentist
while fifty-five (13.2%) did so within the past 12 months.
Conclusion: The oral hygiene practice among our study population was fairly good but need to be reinforced
through various oral health education programs and outreaches with more emphasis on the use of dental floss and
importance of regular visit to the dentist.
Key words: Oral hygiene practice, tooth brushing, dental floss, dental visits
Résumé
Objectif: Évaluer les pratiques d’hygiène bucco-dentaire chez les patients fréquentant le département général de
consultations externes (GOPD) de l’hôpital universitaire de l’Université d’Abuja, Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Matériel et méthodes: Il s’agissait d’une étude transversale de patients fréquentant le GOPD de l’hôpital
universitaire de l’Université d’Abuja, Gwagwalada, Abuja, Nigéria. Un questionnaire pré-testé semi-structuré a
été administré à 416 patients adultes recrutés consécutivement qui ont consenti à participer à l’étude. Les données
collectées ont été analysées à l’aide de la version 23 de SPSS.
Résultats: L’âge variait de 18 à 60 ans, l’âge moyen étant de 33,22 ans (ET = 10,11). Environ 55% des
participants étaient des femmes tandis que 45,4% étaient des hommes. La plupart (98,6%) des répondants
utilisaient une brosse à dents pour se nettoyer les dents et 62,0% se brossaient les dents deux fois par jour. Seuls
très peu (1,7%) utilisaient du fil dentaire pour nettoyer la zone interdentaire tandis que la plupart des répondants
(92,1%) utilisaient des cure-dents. La moitié des répondants se brossent les dents pendant plus de 3 minutes.
Quels que soient les groupes d’âge ou le sexe, la plupart de nos répondants (64,2%) préféraient une brosse douce
tandis que 28,1% préféraient une brosse à dents dure. Un peu plus de la moitié de nos répondants (52,2%)
préféraient utiliser une brosse à dents à grosse tête tandis que 40,1% préféraient des brosses à petite tête. Alors
qu’un très bon nombre (au moins 93,9%) remplacent leurs brosses à dents dans les 6 mois. seulement cent
quarante (33,7%) de nos répondants avaient déjà consulté un dentiste alors que cinquante-cinq (13,2%) l’ont fait
au cours des 12 derniers mois.
Conclusion: La pratique de l’hygiène bucco-dentaire au sein de notre population d’étude était assez bonne, mais
doit être renforcée par divers programmes d’éducation en santé bucco-dentaire et des activités de sensibilisation
mettant davantage l’accent sur l’utilisation de la soie dentaire et l’importance d’une visite régulière chez le
dentiste.
Mots clés: Pratique d’hygiène bucco-dentaire, brossage des dents, soie dentaire, visites dentaires
Correspondence: Dr. J.O. Ajayi, Department of Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital,
Gwagwalada, Abuja. E mail: drjoajayi@yahoo.com
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