M. Kawamura et al., Cross-cultural differences of self-reported oral health behaviour in Japanese and Finnish dental students, INT DENT J, 50(1), 2000, pp. 46-50
Objective: To determine whether any differences existed in dental health be
haviour between Japanese and Finnish dental students. Setting: Hiroshima Un
iversity School of Dentistry and the University of Helsinki. Design: Compar
ison of cross-cultural differences of self-reported oral health behaviour.
Subjects: Dental students, 337 in Japan and 113 in Finland. Method: Subject
s were surveyed using the Japanese and Finnish versions of a 20-item questi
onnaire entitled Hiroshima University-Dental Behavioural Inventory(HU-DBI).
Results: Only 2 per cent of Finnish students reported that they put off go
ing to the dentist until they had toothache, compared to 56 per cent of Jap
anese students. Similarly, significantly more Japanese students thought tha
t their teeth were getting worse despite their daily brushing, compared to
their Finnish peers. The mean HU-DBI score of Year 1 Finnish students was h
igher than that of their Japanese peers, which suggested a higher level of
dental health awareness in Finnish students upon entry into dental school.
The mean scores of the Japanese students were lower than those of their Fin
nish peers until Year 3. The mean scores of Year 5 and Year 6 Japanese stud
ents were higher than that of Year 1 students, indicating raised self-care
levels influenced by the course in preventive dentistry. The gender differe
nce of the HU-DBI score was not a major feature in either country. Conclusi
ons: Self-reported oral health behaviours seemed to be very different betwe
en the two countries, which reflected different culture and/or health educa
tion systems of the students.