Gender differences and oral health behavior - Research Paper Example

With increasing research indicating that one’s periodontal health may be related to overall health, never has it been more important to ensure the health of your teeth and gums. You cannot be healthy unless you are periodontally healthy” (Clem cited in perio.org, 2012). However, there is sufficient research to demonstrate a difference in the behaviors and attitudes of men and women towards dental hygiene and care, with the former generally considered to be not quite as particular about maintaining dental hygiene and care as the latter.

A vast majority of the research works conducted so far have found a greater tendency in the girls to take care of their dental hygiene and adopt positive attitudes and behaviors towards dental care as compared to boys while studies many studies conducted upon older men and women have found similar trends of dental care and behaviors and attitudes towards it. This suggests that age might be an important depicter of the behavior and attitude an individual adopts for the dental hygiene and care.

This imparts the need to study the correlation between age, gender, and attitudes and behaviors towards dental hygiene and care. Identification of gender differences and oral health behavior of adults is fundamental to the development of ways in which both men and women can be convinced to change their behaviors towards the dental hygiene for the better. This research will provide a more holistic view of the attitudes and behaviors of females and males towards the dental hygiene and care as the research will be conducted upon adult men and women.

Results of this research will contribute towards the knowledge of effect of both age and gender upon an individual’s tendency to adopt positive attitude and behavior towards the dental hygiene and care. Fukai, Takaesu, and Maki (1999) studied the link between general health habits and oral health behavior in both men and women and found a direct