Motivators and barriers to oral hygiene self-care among adolescents in Malaysia: A qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: Having good oral hygiene self-care, especially a regular toothbrushing habit will promote lifelong oral health. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence an adolescent's oral hygiene behaviour is important in developing effective oral health programmes for this age group. This study aimed to explore the motivators and barriers to adolescents' oral hygiene self-care by exploring the perspectives of secondary school students from three government schools in the state of Selangor, Malaysia.

METHODS: Focus group discussions (FGD) were conducted with Form 2 (14-years-old) and Form 4 (16-years-old) students from selected secondary schools in Selangor using a semi-structured topic guide until data saturation was reached. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed using framework method analysis.

RESULTS: A total of 10 FGDs were conducted involving 77 adolescents. The motivators for good oral hygiene self-care were appearance, fear of oral disease, consequences of oral disease and past toothache experience. The barriers for oral hygiene self-care were poor attitude towards oral care, lack of confidence in toothbrushing skills, snacking habit and the taste of toothpaste.

CONCLUSION: Understanding the motivators and barriers to adolescents' oral hygiene self-care is the first step in designing effective oral health education messages. The findings from this study can be used as a guide for oral health education programmes and development of materials that fulfil the needs of the adolescent population.