Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate the wear index of toothbrush and related factors in the university students. A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 573 university students from March 16 to April 10, 2015. The questionnaire consisted of general characteristics of the subjects, wear index, and wear rate of the toothbrush. The wear index of 46.9 percent was above 0.400, and the average wear index was $0.403{\pm}0.20$. Overall, the wear index of the toothbrushes was high. 2. As a result of measuring the wear rate of the toothbrushes, the wear rate of 70.4 percent stood at 1 and 2. The average wear rate stood at $1.620{\pm}0.74$. Overall, the wear rate of the toothbrushes was high. 3. As for wear index and wear rate by gender, the wear index and wear rate of the toothbrushes used by the male students were larger than those of the toothbrushes used by the female students. The wear index and wear rate were significantly higher when the toothbrush replacement period was longer. Given the findings of the study, efficient oral health education on the right toothbrush management should be provided for college students to manage their toothbrushes properly.
본 연구는 대학생들이 사용하고 있는 칫솔의 마모도와 마모율을 평가하고 관련요인을 파악하여 대학생 구강보건교육 자료로 활용하고자 하는데 목적이 있다. 2015년 3월 16일부터 4월 10일까지 573개의 칫솔을 수거한 뒤 칫솔 마모도를 평가하여 다음과 같은 결과를 얻었다. 칫솔 마모도는 조사 대상 칫솔 중 46.9%가 0.400 이상의 마모도를 보였고, 평균 마모도는 $0.403{\pm}0.20$로 조사되어, 전체적으로 높은 칫솔 마모도를 보였다. 칫솔 마모율은 1점과 2점이 차지하는 비율이 70.4%였으며, 평균 마모율은 $1.620{\pm}0.74$로 나타나 전체적으로 높은 칫솔 마모율을 보였다. 성별에 따른 칫솔 마모도 및 마모율은 남학생이 여학생보다 높았으며, 칫솔교체주기가 길수록 칫솔 마모도와 마모율 모두 유의하게 높았다. 대학생들의 칫솔교체 주기 및 칫솔 관리가 적절히 이루어질 수 있도록 올바른 칫솔관리에 대한 효율적인 구강보건교육 방안을 마련하는 것이 필요하다.