title: Portuguese self-reported oral-hygiene habits and oral status.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Good oral health is essential for good general health and quality of life. In Portugal, there are few studies on oral-health habits and the population's perceptions of this behaviour.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The main purpose of this study was to characterise the Portuguese population's self-reported oral-health status, habits and perceptions, as well as their demands regarding national oral health-care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomised group of 1,395 individuals, > 15 years of age, was selected as a representative sample of the Portuguese population. Face-to-face interviews were conducted, based on a structured questionnaire with closed and semi-closed questions. The data were submitted for statistical analysis using SPSS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A sample of 1,102 individuals answered the questionnaire. The great majority of the sample (97.6%) brushed their teeth daily, 70.3% had lost permanent teeth and 6.4% were edentulous. The loss of permanent teeth was statistically associated with poor oral-hygiene habits (P < 0.01). Moreover, 50.1% of the participants had experienced difficulty eating and/or drinking, 18% had felt ashamed of the appearance of their teeth and 69.3% had experienced toothache or gingival pain. A reduction in visits to a dentist in the previous 12 months was identified mainly for people from a lower social class (31.2%) and older people (29.4%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Evidence suggests that oral diseases might be more prevalent in Portuguese adults than the European average. Efforts should be made to promote good oral-hygiene habits among older people and people from lower social classes.
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Dental Association, Porto, Portugal.|Department of Conservative Dentistry, Faculty of Dental Medicine of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|Department of Oral Public Health, Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: QSP - Marketing Consultants, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Portuguese Dental Association, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Orlando Monteiro
authors.initials: OM
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards; D003752:Dental Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005882:Gingival Diseases; D006184:Habits; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009066:Mouth, Edentulous; D009909:Oral Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011174:Portugal; D057566:Self Report / Q000592:standards*; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016388:Tooth Loss; D014098:Toothache; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: 
  NHS
  ; Oral health; habits; perceptions; visits