Research Article
Nutrition Awareness and Oral Health among Dental Patients in Palestine: A Cross-Sectional Study
Table 2
Oral health practices according to gender presented in n (%).
| | Total | Male | Female | value | n | % | n | % | n | % |
| Cleaning teeth regularly | Yes | 86 | 64.7 | 19 | 14.3 | 67 | 50.2 | 0.00 | No | 47 | 35.3 | 25 | 18.8 | 22 | 16.5 | |
| Cleaning time | Morning | 31 | 24.8 | 10 | 8 | 21 | 16.8 | 0.456 | Evening | 17 | 13.6 | 8 | 6.4 | 9 | 7.2 | | Morning and evening | 60 | 48.0 | 16 | 12.8 | 44 | 35.2 | | More than once a day | 17 | 13.6 | 5 | 4.0 | 12 | 9.6 | |
| Cleaning method | Circular | 41 | 34.2 | 11 | 9.2 | 30 | 25.0 | 0.689 | Horizontal | 34 | 28.3 | 9 | 7.5 | 25 | 20.8 | | Linear | 28 | 23.3 | 9 | 7.5 | 19 | 15.8 | | Vibration | 17 | 14.2 | 7 | 5.8 | 10 | 8.3 | |
| Cleaning duration | Less than 2 min | 61 | 49.2 | 22 | 17.7 | 39 | 31.5 | 0.159 | 2-3 min | 57 | 46.0 | 16 | 12.9 | 41 | 33.1 | | More than 5 min | 6 | 4.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 6 | 4.8 | |
| Visiting the dentist for checking every months | Yes | 40 | 30.8 | 7 | 5.4 | 33 | 25.4 | 0.025 | No | 90 | 69.2 | 34 | 26.2 | 56 | 43.1 | |
| Visiting the dentist for cleaning every 6 months | Yes | 27 | 20.9 | 4 | 3.1 | 23 | 17.8 | 0.060 | No | 102 | 79.1 | 36 | 27.9 | 66 | 51.2 | |
| Cleaning teeth after eating food and sweets | Always | 26 | 19.4 | 8 | 6.0 | 18 | 13.4 | 0.052 | Often | 22 | 16.4 | 3 | 2.2 | 19 | 14.2 | | Sometimes | 43 | 32.1 | 13 | 9.7 | 30 | 22.4 | | Rarely | 28 | 20.9 | 11 | 8.2 | 17 | 12.7 | | Never | 15 | 11.2 | 9 | 6.7 | 6 | 4.5 | |
| Using teeth floss | Always | 11 | 8.3 | 1 | 0.8 | 10 | 7.6 | 0.056 | Often | 8 | 6.1 | 0 | 0.0 | 8 | 6.1 | | Sometimes | 20 | 15.2 | 6 | 4.5 | 14 | 10.6 | | Rarely | 29 | 22 | 13 | 9.8 | 16 | 12.1 | | Never | 64 | 48.5 | 24 | 18.2 | 40 | 30.3 | |
| Using mouth wash regularly | Always | 28 | 21.4 | 10 | 7.6 | 18 | 13.7 | 0.158 | Often | 19 | 14.5 | 3 | 2.3 | 16 | 12.2 | | Sometimes | 32 | 24.4 | 11 | 8.4 | 21 | 16.0 | | Rarely | 24 | 18.3 | 5 | 3.8 | 19 | 14.5 | | Never | 28 | 21.4 | 13 | 9.9 | 15 | 11.5 | |
| Rubbing teeth with salt | Always | 7 | 5.6 | 1 | 0.8 | 6 | 4.8 | 0.367 | Often | 8 | 6.3 | 3 | 2.4 | 5 | 4.0 | | Sometimes | 23 | 18.3 | 7 | 5.6 | 16 | 12.7 | | Rarely | 16 | 12.7 | 3 | 2.4 | 13 | 10.3 | | Never | 72 | 57.1 | 29 | 23.0 | 43 | 34.1 | |
| Rubbing teeth with salt and lemon | Always | 6 | 4.9 | 2 | 1.6 | 4 | 3.3 | 0.551 | Often | 5 | 4.1 | 2 | 1.6 | 3 | 2.5 | | Sometimes | 13 | 10.7 | 6 | 4.9 | 7 | 5.7 | | Rarely | 13 | 10.7 | 2 | 1.6 | 11 | 9.0 | | Never | 85 | 69.7 | 31 | 25.4 | 54 | 44.3 | |
| Using coal | Always | 4 | 3.4 | 1 | 0.8 | 3 | 2.5 | 0.834 | Often | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | Sometimes | 4 | 3.4 | 2 | 1.7 | 2 | 1.7 | | Rarely | 9 | 7.6 | 4 | 3.4 | 5 | 4.2 | | Never | 102 | 85.7 | 35 | 29.4 | 67 | 56.3 | |
| Using cloves | Always | 10 | 8.1 | 2 | 1.6 | 8 | 6.5 | 0.129 | Often | 6 | 4.8 | 1 | 0.8 | 5 | 4.0 | | Sometimes | 16 | 12.9 | 3 | 2.4 | 13 | 10.5 | | Rarely | 19 | 15.3 | 4 | 3.2 | 15 | 12.1 | | Never | 73 | 58.9 | 31 | 25.0 | 42 | 33.9 | |
| Using cardamom | Always | 2 | 1.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 1.7 | 0.154 | Often | 3 | 2.5 | 1 | 0.8 | 2 | 1.7 | | Sometimes | 5 | 4.2 | 4 | 3.4 | 1 | 0.8 | | Rarely | 14 | 11.9 | 3 | 2.5 | 11 | 9.3 | | Never | 94 | 79.7 | 33 | 28.0 | 61 | 51.7 | |
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