CORRELATES OF PERIODONTAL DISEASE PREVENTIVE BEHAVIORS

为了预防牙周病和牙齿脱落，牙科 当局建议成年人应该刷牙和用牙线清洁牙齿 每天，并应定期进行预防性牙科检查。虽然大多数人 美国成年人每天刷牙，只有大约一半的人去看牙医。 任何一年，每天只有不到五分之一的人用牙线清洁牙齿。 这项拟议的研究将试图确定成年人为什么这样做或不这样做 遵循这些建议中的每一个。这项研究还将测试 这三项预防措施对牙周健康的联合影响。 该项目将以心理学、公共领域的理论和研究为指导 健康和牙科。 具体目标是(A)确定信仰、经历和其他 三种牙周病的重要预测变量 预防行为，(B)测试这三种行为对 口腔健康结果(牙菌斑、牙结石、牙周炎和牙周 疾病)，(C)确定三种预防行为的水平 以及他们在普通人群中的预测因素和结果 选定的亚群，(D)确定关于以下方面的信息来源 使用和信任的牙科健康，以及(E)完善和验证 预测变量的度量。在研究的基础上 调查结果，将对健康教育干预措施提出建议 鼓励人们刷牙、使用牙线，并获得预防性牙科护理。 受试者将是居住在纽约的800名成年人的概率样本 底特律三县区。数据将通过(A)面对面的方式收集 访谈，(B)观察所展示的口腔卫生行为，以及 (C)牙科检查。牙科卫生员将进行观察 还有考试。受访者报告的牙医就诊情况将为 已经和他们的牙医确认了。多变量数据分析 将用于确定哪些变量对预测有贡献 其他变量是受控的，并评估 关于口腔健康的三项预防行动。

In order to prevent periodontal disease and tooth loss, dental authorities recommend that adults should brush and floss their teeth daily and should have regular preventive dental visits. While most American adults brush daily, only about half of them visit a dentist in any given year, and fewer than one out of five floss their teeth daily. The proposed research will attempt to determine why adults do or do not follow each of these recommendations. The research will also test the joint impact of these three preventive actions on periodontal health. The project will be guided by theory and research in psychology, public health, and dentistry. The specific aims are (a) to identify the beliefs, experiences, and other variables that are important predictors of the three periodontal disease preventive behaviors, (b) to test the effects of the three behaviors on oral health outcomes (plaque, calculus, gingivitis, and periodontal disease), (c) to determine the level of the three preventive behaviors and of their predictors and outcomes in the general population and in selected subpopulations, (d) to identify sources of information about dental health that are used and trusted, and (e) to refine and validate measures of the predictor variables. On the basis of the research findings, recommendations will be made for health education interventions to encourage people to brush, floss, and obtain preventive dental care. The subjects will be a probability sample of 800 adults residing in the Detroit tri-county area. Data will be collected by (a) face to face interview, (b) observations of demonstrated oral hygiene behaviors, and (c) dental examinations. Dental hygienists will conduct the observations and examinations. Respondents' reports of dental visits will be confirmed by checking with their dentists. Multivariate data analyses will be used to determine which variables contribute to prediction when other variables are controlled and to assess the joint effects of the three preventive actions on oral health.