Effects of self-efficacy on oral health behaviours and gingival health in university students aged 18- or 19-years-old.
OBJECTIVE
Although self-efficacy is known to affect various health-related practises, few studies have clearly examined how self-efficacy correlates with oral health behaviors or the oral health condition. We examined the relationship between gingivitis, oral health behaviors and self-efficacy in university students.


METHODS
A total of 2,111 students (1,197 males, 914 females) aged 18 and 19 years were examined. The degree of gingivitis was expressed as the percentage of bleeding on probing (%BOP). Additional information was collected via a questionnaire regarding oral health behaviors (daily frequency of tooth-brushing, use of dental floss and regular check-up). Self-efficacy was assessed using the Self-Efficacy Scale for Self-care (SESS). Path analysis was used to test pathways from self-efficacy to oral health behaviors and %BOP.


RESULTS
In the final structural model, self-efficacies were related to each other, and they affected oral health behaviors. Good oral health behaviors reduced dental plaque and calculus, and lower levels of dental plaque and calculus resulted in lower %BOP.


CONCLUSIONS
Higher self-efficacy correlated with better oral health behaviours and gingival health in university students. Improving self-efficacy may be beneficial for maintaining good gingival health in university students. To prevent gingivitis, the approach of enhancing self-efficacy in university students would be useful.
Departments of Preventive Dentistry, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
Shinsuke
S
Mizutani
Daisuke
D
Ekuni
Michiko
M
Furuta
Takaaki
T
Tomofuji
Koichiro
K
Irie
Tetsuji
T
Azuma
Azusa
A
Kojima
Jun
J
Nagase
Yoshiaki
Y
Iwasaki
Manabu
M
Morita
D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D005881:Gingiva; D005891:Gingivitis / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008961:Models, Structural; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000523:psychology*; D012016:Reference Values; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult