Prevalence and awareness of oral habits among adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Introduction: Oral habit is common in childhood and it is proven to cause multiple adverse effects on oral and general health, while oral habits in the adult population are under looked. The prevalence of oral habits varied among different societies. The extent of these effects varies depending on a wide range of variables including the actual habit, the duration, and the intensity of the oral habit. Objectives: The primary objective is to determine the prevalence of oral habits in adults in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the secondary objective is awareness of different types of oral habits and their adverse effects. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study using questionnaire through google form which will address the prevalence of 5 Oral habits in the adult population, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia such as nail biting, chewing on pens/pencils/Miswak, using the teeth as a tool, chewing ice, and teeth clenching/grinding and bruxism. Also, it will address the awareness of these 5 oral habits and their adverse effects on oral health and prevention modalities. Results: There were 220 participants. The majority were Saudi (52.7%), females (83.2%) with bachelor’s degrees (63.6%) and around fifty percent with age below 30 years old. The most prevalent pattern was using teeth as a tool (46.8%), followed by chewing ice (43.6%) and nail-biting (39.1%). All five habits were mainly started in childhood; however, a respectable percentage of beginning is still reported during adulthood, particularly for clenching/grinding/ bruxism and chewing ice, with a ratio of 36.4% and 25%, respectively. Most participants who reported clenching/grinding/ bruxism and nail-biting were related to stress (75.3%, 48.8%, respectively). The majority reported that oral habits could harm teeth (82.3%) and could be preventable (78.6%). Discussion: Most of the studies concentrate on oral habits in children while few studies had concentrated on oral habits in adults. Oral habit is not uncommon in adults, they have either to continue childhood bad habits or practice new oral habit. The adverse effect varies widely on oral and general health. Although the adult population is aware of these side effects few only seek medical advice. Conclusion: In Saudi Arabia, oral habit is not uncommon in adults. So the recommendation for the prevention of oral habits is to embed it in all public services, at strategic and operational levels.