A cross-cultural comparison of dental health attitudes and behaviour among freshman dental students in Japan, Hong Kong and West China

Int Dent J. 2001 Jun;51(3):159-63. doi: 10.1002/j.1875-595x.2001.tb00833.x.

Abstract

Objective: To clarify the differences in dental health attitudes/behaviour among freshman dental students.

Design: Cross-cultural differences.

Setting: Japan, Hong Kong and West China.

Participants and methods: The original version of the Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory (HU-DBI) was written in Japanese. After testing the validity of both English and Chinese versions, the original version of the HU-DBI was administered to 58 freshman Japanese dental students, the English version to 43 Hong Kong Chinese peers and the Chinese version to 39 West Chinese peers.

Results: Significant cultural differences were found for 16 items out of 20. The most striking result was that the Japanese students were more likely to have used a dye to see how clean their teeth were, compared to their Chinese peers (P<0.001). The Chinese students were less likely to have a belief that they could clean their teeth well without using toothpaste (P<0.001), whereas higher percentages of the Chinese students worried about having bad breath (P<0.001). A higher percentage of the Hong Kong students reported that they regularly checked their teeth in a mirror than did their West Chinese or Japanese peers (P<0.05).

Conclusions: There were considerable differences in dental health attitudes/behaviour among freshman dental students in the three cultural groups.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Attitude to Health*
  • Chi-Square Distribution
  • China
  • Coloring Agents
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison*
  • Dental Deposits / diagnosis
  • Esthetics, Dental
  • Ethnicity
  • Female
  • Gingival Diseases / psychology
  • Halitosis / psychology
  • Health Behavior*
  • Hong Kong
  • Humans
  • Japan
  • Male
  • Oral Health*
  • Oral Hygiene
  • Students, Dental*
  • Toothbrushing / psychology
  • Toothpastes / therapeutic use

Substances

  • Coloring Agents
  • Toothpastes