Association between Oral Health Perception, Dental Knowledge, and Habits and Oral Health Status among Students at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City: A Cross-sectional Study.

AIM: Oral health perception is a crucial factor that significantly influences quality of life and is broadly recognized as a reasonable indicator of oral health. This study aimed to examine the effects of various social and clinical factors on individual perceptions of oral health.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 1143 students (mean age 20.9 years) from Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, in 2022. Participants filled out a self-administered questionnaire that gathered information on demographics, oral health perception, oral health literacy, smoking habits, and dental care habits. Trained and calibrated examiners performed oral examinations for dental caries and periodontal conditions. Chi-square tests evaluated the associations between exposure variables and oral health perception, while regression analysis examined the impact of these variables on oral health perception.

RESULTS

Negative oral health perception, present in 52.6% of respondents, was significantly associated with a lack of knowledge that bacteria cause periodontal disease (odds ratio [OR] = 1.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.45-2.62; P < 0.001), infrequent oral checkups (OR = 2.06; 95% CI: 1.58-2.70; P < 0.001), the presence of dental caries (OR = 4.93; 95% CI: 3.78-6.44; P < 0.001), and a high plaque index (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.10-1.88; P = 0.007) after adjusting for confounders.

CONCLUSION

The majority of university students perceived their oral health negatively. Limited oral health knowledge, infrequent dental visits, and unfavorable clinical oral conditions were identified as contributing factors to this negative self-assessment. Although the cross-sectional design restricts causal interpretation, our findings highlight the importance of targeted oral health promotion and stress the need for regular dental visits among university students to reduce the prevalence of oral diseases and improve their perceptions of oral health.