Determinants of Tooth Brushing Practice among Medical and Health Sciences Students of University of Gondar, northwest Ethiopia

Abstract Tooth brushing is an effective preventive measure to maintain individual dental health which is an integral part of general health. The current study aimed to assess determinant factors of practice of tooth brushing among Medical and Health sciences students in University of Gondar, Ethiopia. Facility based cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2019 using simple random sampling technique and self- administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% uncertainty interval and p<0.05 was used to identify determinants of tooth brushing practice Of the study participants in this study 69.6% with 95% UI (65.0, 74.5%) had good tooth brushing practice. Being female [AOR = 7.76, 95% UI (3.79, 15.88)], good dental health knowledge [AOR = 1.66, 95% UI (1.01, 2.75)] and dental flossing [AOR = 2.74, 95% UI (1.64, 4.59)] were determinant factors of tooth brushing practice. The aforementioned factors demand the attention of health sector stakeholders to improve dental health knowledge to substantially increase practice of tooth brushing.