Oral hygiene practices and factors influencing the choice of oral hygiene materials among undergraduates in selected universities in Osun State, Nigeria

Introduction and Objective. Oral health is a crucial part of general health and wellbeing to be maintained throughout a life, and the oral health status is usually determined by the level of oral hygiene practices. This study aimed at investigating oral hygiene practices and factors influencing the choice of oral hygiene materials among undergraduates in Osun State, Nigeria. Materials and method. A cross-sectional descriptive research design was adopted using a multistage sampling technique to select 440 undergraduates from two universities in Osun State. Osun State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria with an estimated population of about 4.7 million, as of 2016. The research instrument used was a self-structured questionnaire, data retrieved was coded, entered and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Results. More than half of the respondents 232 (52.7%) were between 21–25 years. Only 59% perceived that their oral health status was excellent. A small percentage of the respondents (3.2%) visit the dentist regularly and only 26% brush their teeth twice daily and change their toothbrush every six months. Less than half of the respondents (33.9%) exhibited good oral hygiene practices. Gender and institution attended had a significant relationship with oral hygiene practices with P value of.010 and.001, respectively. Conclusions. More than half of the respondents perceived their oral health status to be excellent and less than half of the respondents claimed they exhibited good oral hygiene practices. The most identified factor affecting their choice of oral hygiene materials was cost. Socio-demographic variables of significance for the practice of oral hygiene were gender and institution of study. There is need to promote oral health through health education about oral hygiene at various levels of learning and during campaigns to all age groups.