• Journal of dental hygiene science
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.449-460
• /
• 2013

This study analyzes the processes of change in oral health behaviors induced by oral health education for 23 university students. To this end, we analyzed the changing patterns of the stages of change and motivational components for each oral health behavior. Additionally, we performed an in-depth interview-based investigation of the factors influencing such motivational components. Oral health education was performed twice with a concrete purpose of changing the participants' behaviors in complying with the practice of proper brushing and flossing as the main oral health management, and checking the nutrient facts as a good dietary habit. Upon completion of these two sessions of oral health education, the level of change in oral health behavior was assessed by measuring the stages of change and motivational components for each oral health behavior. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons for the changes that were demonstrated more markedly during the second education session than during the first session, collective interview surveys were carried out after the second session. The contents of the recorded interviews were categorized into subscales of distinctive concepts on the basis of the items of a health behavior model. The study had the findings as below. First, after the first and second education sessions, some behaviors showed positive changes from lower to higher levels of practice. Second, self-efficacy about oral health behavior was high or perceived barriers were low when its necessity and benefits were clearly perceived. Third, educational features such as the practice and participation-centered education, and examining their own oral conditions influenced the participants' oral health awareness and behavioral changes. There is a need for oral health education capable of leading to practical behavioral changes by establishing concrete strategies of deriving various motivational components at each stage of the processes of change.