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rev port estomatol med dent cir maxilofac . 2018;59(1):18-23 21

Table 3. Distribution of the examinees according Discussion
to habits/behaviors important for oral health
The main limitation of this research in the Infantry Regiment
Behaviors/habits for oral health Frequency Percentage no.14 of Viseu, Portugal, was the reduced sample of army per-
Smoking: sonnel (with a response rate of only 29.9%). However, that low
No 66 54.1% number resulted mainly from many militaries being on mis-
Yes 56 45.9% sions in other countries or posted to do tasks outside the Reg-
How often do you brush your teeth? iment (e.g., forest surveillance) in the time span defined by
At least once a day 37 30.3% the Army Chief of State.
At least twice a day 80 65.6% Dental caries directly affects military readiness, as service
Do not brush every day 5 4.1%
members with even modest levels of oral disease may not be
Do you always brush your teeth available for deployment until their dental treatment is complet-
after meals? ed. Thus, the dental readiness of military personnel may signifi-
Never 7 5.7% cantly influence the primary goals and objectives of a military. 22
Yes 34 27.9%
Sometimes 81 66.4% In our study, the prevalence of dental caries was overall
substantially lower (51.6%) than in other army populations,
Do you use a toothbrush? such as that of Croatia and Australia (96.46% and 84.8%, re-
No 4 96.7% 10,23
Yes 118 3.3% spectively). On the other hand, when comparing the army
soldiers workers with the general Portuguese population, the
Do you use dental floss? results are similar (61%). 13
No 100 82%
Yes 22 18% In our sample, the DMFT index was 4.6±3.5. In comparison,
studies on the Iranian and Jordanian Armed Forces registered
Do you use a mouthwash? higher values (9.67 and 8.69, respectively). 6,9 In contrast, a
No 79 64.8%
Yes 43 35.2% study on the Australian Army Recruits reported that 81% had
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a DMFT of 6 or less. Considering the existing studies on the
Do you use an interdental brush? Portuguese military, which reported DMFT values between 6.3
No 116 95.1% 13,14,16,17
Yes 6 4.9% and 8.5, our DMFT was substantially lower.
Studies similar to ours 10,17 reported that the first lower mo-
Do you use a tongue brush? lars were the teeth most prone to dental caries, which is in
No 112 91.8%
Yes 10 8.2% accordance with our results.
In our study, dental plaque was absent in only 20 examinees
Do you use fluoride toothpaste? (16.4%), while the remaining 83.6% had different degrees of den-
No 16 13.1% 25
Yes 79 64.8% tal plaque. Likewise, in a study on the Spanish Army, only 7.5%
I do not know 27 22.1% of the inquired population was healthy in all their sextants,
without any dental calculus. Also, in the Portuguese Navy, a high-
When was the last time you visited
the dentist? er prevalence of scores 2 and 3 of the Silness and Löe plaque
More than 2 years ago 15 12.3% index (visible plaque and abundant plaque) were observed. 16
More than a year ago 23 18.9% Toothbrushing is considered a fundamental self-care be-
Less than a year ago 29 23.8% havior for the maintenance of oral health, and brushing twice
Less than 6 months ago 55 45.1%
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a day is a social rule. In this study, almost all respondents
Why do you not visit the dentist more brushed their teeth daily (30.3% brushed their teeth at least
frequently? once a day while 65.6% brushed their teeth at least twice a
Only visit when I feel pain 25 20.5%
Price of the appointment 24 19.7% day). This finding is in accordance with other identical Portu-
I do not need to 53 43.4% guese studies, which reported that more than 70% of the par-
I do not want to 11 9% ticipants brushed their teeth at least twice a day. 13,14,16 How-
Other reason 9 7.4%
ever, the studies on the Iranian and Malaysian Army showed
higher values, as 78.8% and 98.2% of the participants, respec-
tively, declared to brush their teeth at least once a day. 9,27
Statistical differences were found between age groups re- Besides toothbrushing, which is the most common meth-
garding the time since the last dental appointment (P=0.042; od for removing dental plaque, different interdental aids for
Cramér’s V=0.184). In this case, there seemed to be a tendency plaque removal, such as dental floss and interdental brushes,
to visit the dentist more frequently (last visit in the previous are widely available and are recommended to be used in ad-
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12 months) for those who were under 25 years old. dition to toothbrushing. The present study found that those
No association was found between dental caries or plaque who did not use dental floss had more dental plaque (scores
index and other variables. However, based on the descriptive 2 and 3). Only 18% of our sample used dental floss and 4.9%
analysis, the prevalence of dental caries was lower among used interdental brushes. The same results were verified in
those who visited the dentist more frequently (bi-annually or the Dutch Army, in which only 13% used interdental cleaning
annually). There were no statistical differences between dif- aids, and among the Portuguese Special Forces, in which only
11
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ferent age groups regarding other variables. 25% used dental floss. However, these numbers are small