Oral health status of 1500 university students in Toulouse France.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health status among a population of students enrolled in the first year at the Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse (France), and to compare the results with those of similar investigations.


METHODS
An epidemiologic survey of 1,500 students at the Centre for Preventive Medicine at Paul Sabatier University (UPS) will enable us to obtain the prevalence of certain variables such as DMFT, sugar consumption, tooth-brushing frequency, and mouthwash use, through a structured questionnaire and a standardised oral health examination.


RESULTS
The Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth (DMFT) index of these students was 4.4 (Standard Deviation = 3.72) (D = 1, M = 0.042 F = 3,454). Of the 1500 subjects, 27.6% smoke, while 43% eat sweets on a regular basis. The female students are more careful with their dental health (tooth-brushing frequency and mouthwash use are statistically significant (p < 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the result of the DMFT index is lower in comparison to similar previous studies, a decrease in dental caries seems certain. The multifactorial knowledge of the caries aetiology motivates us to search for new, more sensitive indexes.
Bou
C
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Department of public health, Faculty of Dentistry of Bordeaux, France.
Miquel
J L
JL
Poisson
P
P
D000328:Adult; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009067:Mouthwashes / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology; D012923:Social Class; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D019422:Dietary Sucrose; D009067:Mouthwashes