Lifestyle, gender and occupational status as determinants of dental health behavior.

The aim was to compare how general lifestyle, gender and occupational status determine dental health behavior. All the 1012 55-year-old citizens of Oulu (a medium-sized Finnish town) were invited to participate in this study. 780 of them did so. Information about frequency of toothbrushing, use of extra cleaning methods, use of sugar in coffee or tea, and time of the last dental visit, lifestyle, occupational status and gender was gathered from the 533 dentate subjects. Lifestyle was measured by means of questions about physical activity, tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption and dietary habits. Females and people with a healthy lifestyle brushed their teeth more often. Extra cleaning methods were used more often by people with a healthy lifestyle, whereas gender and occupational status had a weaker association. Males and people with a lower occupational status used sugar in coffee or tea more often. The time from the last dental visit was longer among workers and men; lifestyle had no significant association. At the population level oral cleaning habits are a matter of a health-oriented lifestyle and gender-related behavior. The dental visiting habit has a weaker association with general lifestyle.