Search

Background/Aim. A period of adolescence is characterized by turbulent emotional, physical and physiological changes. There are numerous risk factors that may endanger the oral health of adolescents as the influence of parents reduces, while the influence of the environment and peers increases. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine the behavior of adolescents concerning oral health, using a new statistical method – artificial intelligence algorithms. Methods. In the first part of the survey, data on the behavior of adolescents related to oral health were collected. Hiroshima University Dental Behavioral Inventory (HU DBI) questionnaire was used, and additionally expanded with three questions. The second part of the study included clinical examination. The research was conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry in Pančevo, Serbia. The first and second grade high school students were selected for the observation unit. The total sample consisted of 374 students (128 males and 246 females). We applied a special programming language called Python for parsing data, creating a database in digital form, processing data by standard statistical methods and through the Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method. Results. The artificial intelligence algorithms clustered the respondents into two groups, based on their responses from the HU DBI questionnaire. Thus, the quality of the method and the need for analysis of this type in dental studies are demonstrated and proven. Conclusion. Based on the results obtained through artificial intelligence algorithms, we could conclude that respondents should rather be clustered into characteristic groups and analyzed than divided and observed according to sex, as it is the intuitive division.

Background/Aim. Dental status and oral hygiene habits are poor in young population living in deprived socioeconomic conditions. The aim of this research was to ascertain oral hygiene habits in adolescents attending high schools in urban area, determine the incidence of tooth loss at the age of 15–16 years and the gender difference. Methods. The epidemiological cross-sectional study included 234 randomly selected high school students. The research instruments were questionnaire (focusing on socio-demographic characteristics, habits, attitudes and behavior related to general and oral health) and clinical examination (tooth loss, normative need for prosthodontics restorations and presence of restorations). Results. Gender-related data comparison revealed that 32.5% of girls and 8.1% of boys had at least one tooth extracted (p < 0.05). Also, 56.2% of girls and 75.7% of boys brushed their teeth twice a day. Caries complications were identified as the indication for tooth extraction in 82.8% of participants. The data analysis confirmed the correlation between gender and tooth loss as well as treatment needs. Tooth loss was correlated with oral hygiene habits and reasons for dental visits. Treatment need was also affected by the reasons for tooth extraction and the absence of adequate prosthodontics therapy (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Sociodemographic conditions significantly influenced the number of participants with extracted teeth. A prosthodontic treatment need was influenced by the reasons for tooth extraction, adolescents’ knowledge about the importance of adequate treatment and previous unpleasant experience.