Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
EUROPERİO11, Vienna, Avusturya, 14 - 17 Mayıs 2025, ss.1
Background: The aim of the present cross-sectional study was to evaluate oral health awareness among academic staff in a public university.
Methods: A total of 2838 academic staff members at Dokuz Eylul University were invited to participate through official email accounts and the document management system. Demographic variables, smoking status, academic qualifications, years of experience, field of study, and oral hygiene routines were recorded. Oral and periodontal health were assessed using self-reported questionnaires (Oral Health Impact Profile-14 [OHIP-14] and Periodontal Screening Score [PESS]). Normal distribution was evaluated using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and symmetry by Skewness and Kurtosis. The Chi-square test was used to analyze categorical variables, and the Mann-Whitney U test was applied to continuous variables.
Results: A total of 124 individuals responded to the questionnaire. The majority of participants were female (n = 82, 65.6%), with a mean age of 46.5 ± 9.8 years. Participants with periodontitis (PESS ≥ 5) accounted for 27.4% of the sample, with a median OHIP-14 score of 4 (IQR: 1-10). The OHIP-14 score was significantly lower among those who brushed their teeth more than once daily [3 (IQR: 1-9)] compared to those who brushed only a few times per week [8 (IQR: 6-17)] (p = 0.001). Among individuals with systemic diseases, the OHIP-14 score [7 (IQR: 2-13)] was significantly higher than those without systemic diseases [3.5 (IQR: 1-8.25)] (p = 0.45). No significant difference was observed between groups with and without periodontitis.
Conclusions: The analyses indicate that academic title (professor vs. other titles) is neither significantly associated with periodontal status nor with the perceived impact of oral health on quality of life (OHIP-14). This suggests that within this academic population, professional status does not significantly affect either periodontal health or oral health-related quality of life.