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DENTAL FLOSS; CONCEPT AND USE AMONG THE UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL

STUDENTS

Article  in  The Professional Medical Journal · November 2016

DOI: 10.17957/TPMJ/16.3608

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DENTAL FLOSS
The Professional Medical Journal
www.theprofesional.com
ORIGINAL PROF-3608
DOI: 10.17957/TPMJ/16.3608

DENTAL FLOSS;
CONCEPT AND USE AMONG THE UNDERGRADUATE DENTAL
STUDENTS
dr_shaziarajpar@hotmail.com

Dr. Shazia Parveen Rajpar1, Dr. Munir Ahmed Banglani2, Dr. Suneel Kumar Punjabi3, Dr. Priya4
1. BDS, MSc
Senior Lecturer ABSTRACT… Objectives: To assist the concept and use of dental floss among
Department of Community Dentistry undergraduate dental students of Liaquat University of Medical & Health sciences,
Liaquat University of Medical
& Health Sciences Jamshoro. Study Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive case series study. Setting:
Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan Institute of Dentistry, Liaquat University of Medical Health, Jamshoro, Pakistan.
2. BDS, MSc
Assistant Professor Period: June 2015 to December 2015. Methodology: In this study 192 students
Department of Community Dentistry of BDS Department, Institute of Dentistry, Liaquat University of Medical & Health
Liaquat University of Medical
& Health Sciences
Science, Jamshoro were selected. Questions related to assess the knowledge 87.14%
Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan students knew what dental floss was. Results: 74.29% students knew that dental
3. BDS, FCPS floss remove plaque from interdental areas, whereas 25.71% replied don’t know.
Assistant Professor
Department of Oral & Maxillofacial 48.57% of the students thought that dental floss should be customarily used along
Surgery with tooth brushing every day, 24.29% of the students thought that dental floss harms
Liaquat University of Medical
& Health Sciences the interdental gingiva, whereas majority 40% said that it would not harm the gingiva,
Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan 35.71% replied don’t know. only 18.57% respondent thought that toothbrushes with
4. BDS, (MSc Trainee)
Department of Community Dentistry
advanced bristles designs would remove interdental plaque similar to dental floss,
Liaquat University of Medical whereas majority (60%) of the respondent had no any idea about the effectiveness of
& Health Sciences two cleaning methods, practice of using dental floss 18.57% of students use interdental
Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan
aids commonly floss and while 81.43% did not use dental floss. 27.14% of the study
Correspondence Address: subjects use some other interdental aids like tooth picks to clean interdental areas,
Dr. Shazia Parveen Rajpar
BDS, MSc whereas 72.86% did not follow any other interdental cleaning practice. Conclusion:
Senior Lecturer This study has focused light on the knowledge and practice of interdental aid, so
Department of Community Dentistry
Liaquat University of Medical and
further studies are needed. Finally, it could be concluded that awareness regarding
Health Sciences, dental floss needs to be bolstered in the population as preventive oral health care
Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan behavior.
dr_shaziarajpar@hotmail.com

Article received on: Key words: Tooth brushing techniques, Dental Floss Oral health awareness
27/08/2016
Accepted for publication:
15/10/2016 Article Citation: Rajpar SP, Banglani MA, Punjabi SK, Priya. Dental floss; concept and
Received after proof reading: use among the undergraduate dental students. Professional Med J
14/11/2016 2016;23(11):1364-1367. DOI: 10.17957/TPMJ/16.3608

INTRODUCTION tooth loss. Periodontal disease typically begins

Interdental cleaning is removal of food debris interstitially. Studies have shown that daily good
& plaque between teeth. Plaque removal oral hygiene is necessary for removal of dental
effectively& thoroughly is fundamental to plaque to prevent disease.2 The mechanical
every patient’s self-care program. Certain teeth method of plaque control is easiest and effective
and gums related problems like tooth decay, to prevent periodontal diseases. Tooth brush
periodontal disease and tooth loss are result of alone is relatively ineffective interdentally, so
infrequent and ineffective interdental cleaning. for preventing several dental conditions, use of
Primary prevention & oral health promotion is the interdental cleaning aids like dental floss, tufted
key to reduce the problems.1 Dental plaque is dental floss, tooth picks, interdental brushes,
major cause especially for periodontal problems. interdental tips, wooden dental cleaners etc. are
Although periodontal disease is preventable, necessary.3
its prevalence is increasing in the world. If left
untreated, periodontal disease may lead to Among these, dental floss is more effective
Professional Med J 2016;23(11): 1364-1367. www.theprofesional.com 1364
DENTAL FLOSS 2

in removing interdental plaque than manual P-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as statistically
toothbrush alone, these two in combination are significant.
effective for proper oral hygiene. Various reports
suggest that only a minority of population is RESULTS
compliant flosses on a daily basis.4 A total of 192 students of 1st and 2nd year BDS
class were surveyed. Out of 192 students, 82
As dental health is vastly an individualized notion, (42.71%) were boys and 110(57.29%) were
the aim of this study is to prevent, control/arrest females as in Figure-1.
oral diseases. The knowledge and practices of
dental students toward their oral health care When asked about the questions related to
reflect their understanding the importance of assess the knowledge 87.14% students knew
dental procedure and improving the oral health what was dental floss. 74.29% students knew
of their own, & their families.6 that dental floss remove plaque from interdental

METHODOLOGY
A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted
on BDS students of both genders at Institute of
Dentistry, Liaquat University of Medical & Health
Sciences, Jamshoro. A briefing was given about
the nature of the study, and the procedure of
completing the questionnaire was explained
to every participant individually. Students
who refused to participate in this research
were excluded. Prior to fill the pre-designed Figure-1. Gender Distribution
questionnaire their consent was obtained.
All the information regarding the variables of areas, whereas 25.71% replied don’t know.
study was collected through 07 closed ended 48.57% of the students thought that dental floss
questionnaires. should be customarily used along with tooth
brushing every day, 24.29% of the students
In this study population of 192 dental students thought that dental floss harms the interdental
of 1st year and 2nd year were enrolled from June gingiva, whereas majority 40% said that it would
2015 to December 2015. Single researcher not harm the gingiva, 35.71% replied don’t know.
gathered questionnaire data by meeting only 18.57% said that they thought, toothbrushes
individually either at campus or hostel. No with advanced bristles designs would remove
tracking system was used to determine who interdental plaque similar to dental floss, whereas
responded and who did not, in order to ensure majority (60%) of the respondent had no any idea
anonymity. The questionnaire required data on about the effectiveness of two cleaning methods.
socio demographic characteristics, knowledge (Table-I&II)
regarding what is dental floss, its efficacy in
removing plaque from interdental areas etc. and When participants asked about the practice
their practices regarding use of dental floss. of using dental floss 18.57% of students use
Data collection was done using the SPSS interdental aids, commonly dental floss and
version 20.0 was used to analyze the data using while 81.43% did not use dental floss. 27.14%
descriptive statistics. of the study subjects use some other interdental
aids like tooth picks to clean interdental areas,
Descriptive statistics were computed and whereas 72.86% did not follow any other
differences between groups were assessed and interdental cleaning practice.(Table-I)
presented in the form of tables and Figures.

Professional Med J 2016;23(11): 1364-1367. www.theprofesional.com 1365

DENTAL FLOSS 3

Question Yes No
1-Do you know what is dental floss? 87.14% 12.86%
2-Does dental floss removes plaque and debris from interdental areas? 74.29% 25.71%
3-Do you use dental floss to clean your teeth? 18.57% 81.43%
4-Do you use any other interdental aids like tooth picks and interdental brushes apart from 27.14% 72.86%
dental floss to clean interdental areas?
Table-I. Pre-Designed Questionnaires asked by participants

Question Yes No Don’t Know

5-Should dental floss be customarily used with tooth brushing every day? 48.57% 28.57% 22.86%
6-Do you think that dental floss would injure or harm the interdental areas? 24.29% 40.0% 35.71%
7-Do modern toothbrushes with advanced bristles design remove inter-
18.57% 21.43% 60.0%
dental plaque similar to dental floss?
Table-II. Pre-Designed Questionnaires asked by participants

DISCUSSION it is effective in removing interdental plaque, this

Dental students should be a good example of was in accordance to study by Braimoh et al.9
positive oral health attitudes and behavior to
their families, patients and friends. In general, Interdental area is the most common site of
they have been found to be motivated about plaque retention and the most inaccessible to
maintaining a good oral health.7 The use of toothbrushes; this could be complemented by
dental floss dates back to prehistoric times and the use of dental floss daily. In present survey
the credit of inventing the modern dental floss go approximately 18.57% of the students used dental
to Levi Spear Parmly, a dentist from New Orlean, floss; this was comparable to 19% in Indian10
fondly referred to as the apostle of oral hygiene. medical students, but lower than the Iranian11
Even though the use of dental floss along with students which were reported up to 36.7%.
regular tooth brushing has been recommended Evidence in the literature suggests that there is
routinely for prevention of periodontal diseases, a general lack of use of flossing as a preventive
but the statistics throughout the world is not measure by the various population of the world.7
encouraging8, and hence, it is essential to find the
knowledge, attitude and self-reported practice CONCLUSION
about interdental cleaning aids among dental The findings from this study was showed that
students to identify deficiencies, which would be a significant percentage of dental students
helpful to plan corrective measures. The present recognize dental floss as an essential interdental
survey was undertaken with the same objective aid and agree that its routine use is necessary.
among dental students.
But the use of dental floss was found not
This study showed that approximately 87.14% satisfactory. This study has focused light on
students knew what dental floss was effective in the knowledge and practice of interdental aid.
removing plaque. This is higher than the results So, further studies are needed, Finally, it could
of Nigerian9 students in which only 18% student be concluded that awareness regarding dental
knew about dental floss, but in line with study floss needs to be bolstered in the population as
conducted by Neeraja.7 This could be due to poor preventive oral health care behavior.
knowledge and less caring attitudes towards Copyright© 15 Oct, 2016.
interdental aids.
REFERENCES
In the present study, the majority of students 1. Doshi D, Baldava P, Anup N, Sequeira PS. A comparative
evaluation of self‑reported oral hygiene practices
agreed to the fact that dental floss should be
among medical and engineering University students
used along with regular tooth brushing and that
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DENTAL FLOSS 4

with access to health‑promotive dental care. J behavior of dental students in India. J Oral Sci 2008;
Contemp Dent Pract 2007; 8:68‑75. 50:267‑72.

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“You are confined only by the

walls you build yourself.”
Unknown

AUTHORSHIP AND CONTRIBUTION DECLARATION

Sr. # Author-s Full Name Contribution to the paper Author=s Signature
1 Dr. Shazia Parveen Rajpar Writing / Data Collection /
Results
2 Dr. Munir Ahmed Banglani Concept / Methodology

3 Dr. Suneel Kumar Punjabi Proof Reading / Editing /

Intro
4 Dr. Priya Discussion / Conclusion

Professional Med J 2016;23(11): 1364-1367. www.theprofesional.com 1367

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