title: Dental visits, oral hygiene behaviour, and orthodontic treatment in Switzerland.
abstract: Since the first survey in 1992/93, the Swiss Health Survey (SHS) has been repeated every 5 years (1997, 2002 and 2007). In the present study, dental visits (dental care utilisation within the last 12 months), oral hygiene measures and the frequency of orthodontic treatments in the Swiss population in 2002 were examined and dental visits were compared with the years 1992/93, 1997 and 2007. Weighted data were analysed regarding different sociodemographic factors. From 1992 to 2002, dental visits among the 15-74-year-old declined continuously (1992/93: 70%, 1997: 66%, 2002: 63%), whereas in 2007 a slight increase (66%) was documented. In the survey from 2002, a large proportion (74%) of the population stated to clean their teeth or prostheses several times a day, predominantly with a manual toothbrush, whereas 28% applied an electric toothbrush and almost half of the respondents also used dental floss or toothpicks. Fewer visits and less intensive oral hygiene measures were observed among the elderly, men, weak social strata, smokers, persons with more than 8 missing teeth and in the group with removable dentures. Almost a quarter of the population had orthodontic treatment with the highest proportion among the 15-24-year-old (56%).
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Periodontology, Endodontology and Cariology, University Clinics for Dentistry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Stadelmann
authors.forename: Elisabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zemp
authors.forename: Carine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weiger
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Menghini
authors.forename: Nicola U
authors.initials: NU
authors.lastname: Zitzmann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003729:Dental Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003753:Dental Health Surveys; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland; D055815:Young Adult