Page 16 - Petelin, Ana. 2024. Ed. Zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | Health of the Working-Age and Older Adults. Zbornik prispevkov z recenzijo | Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press

Discussion

Frequency of Tooth Brushing
The results of our 2019 study show relatively poor oral hygiene among adults
aged 18–74 years in Slovenia, but the percentage of adults who brush their teeth
regularly is similar or even slightly higher than the results of the 2016 study
(Ranfl and Oikonomidis, 2018), which showed that 64% of adults aged 25–74
years in Slovenia brush their teeth regularly (at least twice a day). The results of
that study also showed that adequate oral hygiene is related to the level of ed-
ucation of the population. The proportion of adults who brushed their teeth
regularly was lowest among those with primary education (49%) and highest
among adults with at least higher education (77%). The proportion of adults
who brushed their teeth regularly was higher in urban areas (71%) and lower in
rural areas (56%). Compared to our study, the results of our survey also show a
slightly higher proportion of people with higher education compared to people
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with lower education (high school or less) and of people from urban and sub-
zdravje delovno aktivnih in starejših odraslih | health of working-age and older adults
urban environments compared to people from rural environment.
According to a 2014 national opinion survey by Delta Dental, 31% of
Americans do not brush their teeth regularly, which is comparable to the re-
sults of our survey; 29% of adults between the ages of 18 and 74 do not brush
their teeth regularly.

Use of Fluoride Toothpaste
It is possible that the information we received about the fluoride content of
toothpaste was not reliable and that people do not know if they are using flu-
oride toothpaste. Nevertheless, based on the research results, we can estimate
that 80% of people use fluoride toothpaste and 20% of people use toothpaste
without fluoride.

Use of (Other) Oral Hygiene Aids
Dental floss is used regularly or occasionally by a larger proportion of women
and people with at least a higher level of education. A third of people under 45
and slightly less than half of people aged between 45 and 74 did not use den-
tal floss. The proportion of people who did not floss was highest in rural areas,
where it was statistically significantly higher than in urban or suburban areas.
According to NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey), 2011-2014 (CDC, 2020a; CDC, 2020b), 32% of adults, 26% of men and
37% of women in the US population aged 30 years and older floss daily, and 32%
of adults do not floss (Fleming et al., 2018). According to a national survey by
Delta Dental (2014), 20% of Americans do not floss. The two estimates differ
due to different methodological approaches. Both studies and our research re-
sults show that women floss more frequently than men. The research results are
surprising because according to the most recent data (Fleming et al., 2018), as