Identifying and monitoring oral hygiene behavior and oral comfort in individual patients in a private oral hygiene clinic
Keywords:
self-employed oral hygienist, oral hygiene behavior, oral discomfort, private oral hygiene clinic
Abstract
Oral care professionals try to promote or maintain individual optimal oral hygiene behavior (OHB) in daily practice in order to increase the effectiveness of their oral comfort interventions. The present research describes the evaluation of individual OHB and subjective oral discomfort by using the MondiX-i®.
261 patients in a private dental hygiene clinic in Groningen, The Netherlands completed a short questionnaire at their appointment for screening, monitoring and treatment. The first author treated the patients on a recall-routine, provided them with tailored advices about their oral health, which she did based on her own professional daily practical experience.
The data collection was based on a draft version of the MondiX-i®. This new measure includes two simple questions; “How do you estimate or do you evaluate your general health?” and “How do you estimate or do you evaluate your oral health?”, as well as the OHB index and an Oral Discomfort scale, a two dimensional scale to monitor psychological discomfort and physical discomfort. The present findings suggest that patients’ oral hygiene behavior in daily practice can be promoted, maintained and/or changed in the right/desired direction and indicate that oral discomfort play an important role in oral health care. Moreover, the results indicated that intrinsic motivated older patients’ oral hygiene behavior can be also improved by promoting support by significant others, such as the oral hygienist and the patients’ social environment.
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References
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4. Burrekers, S.Y., Gortzak, J.J.C., Reyerse, E., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on oral health and oral self-care awareness. Oral health care, 5, 4-4. https://doi: 10.15761/OHC.1000195
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8. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. & Burrekers, S.Y. (2019). Effects and Benefits of a Program to Promote Tooth Brushing Among 12-Year-Old School Children in the Dominican Republic. Advances in dentistry & oral health, 10(5), 555799. https://doi: 10.19080/ADOH.2019.10.555799.
9. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., & Burrekers, S.Y. (2017) Oral health awareness, promotion of home oral self-care, and professional oral health care among young mothers and their babies: a pilot project. Oral health and care, 2(5), 1-4.
10. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Burrekers, S.Y., Jongboer, A., Quant, D.F., & van Maanen-Schakel, N,W. (2011). Determinants of oral hygiene behavior in the Dominican Republic. International dental journal, 61(6), 328–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1875-595X.2011.00083.x.
11. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Bink, P., van Zanten, S., & van der Schans, C.P. (2011b). Determinants and promotion of oral hygiene behaviour in the Caribbean and Nepal. International dental journal, 61(5), 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1875-595X.2011.00071.x
12. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y., Dijkstra-le Clercq, M., Verheggen-Udding, E., de Jong, N., & Spreen, M. (2012). Halitosis and oral health-related quality of life: a case report. International journal of dental hygiene, 10(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-5037.2011.00512.x
13. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., & van der Schans, C.P. (2011a). Determinants of oral hygiene behavior: A study based on the theory of planned behavior. Community dentistry and oral epidemiology, 39(3), 250–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.2010.00589.x
14. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Van der Schans C.P., Jaso, M.E., Acevedo, S. & Parodi Estellano, G. (2008). Evaluación y promoción de la actitud hacia la higiene oral en pacientes de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad Católica del Uruguay [Evaluation and promotion of patients’ oral hygiene behavior in the faculty of Odontology of the Catolic University in Uruguay]. Actas Odontológicas, Vol. V No. 2 Julio-Diciembre 13-20.
15. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Schaub, R.M.H., Van der Schans, C.P. & Spreen, M. (2010). Oral health-related quality of life among imprisoned Dutch forensic psychiatric patients. Journal of forensic nursing, 6(3), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-3938.2010.01079.x
16. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. Dijkstra, A & Schuit, K. (2012). Identification and evaluation of adequate oral hygiene behavior: The development of the MondiX®. 140th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting (October 27 – October 31, 2012) in San Francisco, CA.
17. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y. A.B., Dijkstra, A., van der Wal, H., Basic, N., Loomans, S. A., van der Schans, C. P., & van der Meer, R. (2009). Promoting oral hygiene behavior in recruits in the Dutch Army. Military Medicine, 174(9), 971–976. https://doi.org/10.7205/milmed-d-05-0408
18. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A. & Van der. Schans, C.P. (2009). Oral health-quality of life predictors depend on population. Applied research in quality of life, 4, 283-293.
19. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Gortzak, J.J.C., Sjoerts, J.E., & Frederiks, A. (2021). ‘Outspoken’ Oral Hygienists Promote Oral Health Care Awareness at Public Events for (Pregnant) Women and Young Mothers. Journal of dental hygiene science, 21, 140-9. https://doi.org/10.17135/ jdhs.2021.21.3.10
20. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., & Reyerse, E. (2020). What is the impact of oral (public) health promotion, and of interventions for oral (self) care awareness raising and behavior change? Journal of dentistry, oral disorders & therapy, 8, 1-4. http://dx.doi. org/10.15226/jdodt.2020.001114
21. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Takrovskaja, K., & Steverink-Jorna, L.M. (2018). Kidsfabriek, Oral health awareness and promotion of oral self-care during a learning and play event for children and parents in The Netherlands. Annual clinical journal of dental health, 7, 22-25.
22. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, USA.
23. Elkerbout, T.A., Slot, D.E., Rijnen, M.E., & van der Weijden, G.A.F. (2023). Change in oral hygiene behaviour after non-surgical periodontal therapy - A retrospective analyses. International journal of dental hygiene, 21(1), 259–271. https://doi: 10.1111/idh.12593
24. Elsenberg, C.P.M., Sidiqi, S., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2022). Halitosis, what experiences and methods apply Dutch dental hygienists. International journal of dental hygiene, 20(2), 219–224. https://doi: 10.1111/idh.12554
25. Ghaffari, M., Rakhshanderou, S., Ramezankhani, A., Buunk-Werkhoven, Y., Noroozi, M., & Armoon, B. (2018). Are educating and promoting interventions effective in oral health?: A systematic review. International journal of dental hygiene, 16(1), 48–58. doi: 10.1111/idh.12305
26. Hoeksema, A.R., Meijer, H.J., Vissink, A., Raghoebar, G.M., & Visser, A. (2016). Een evaluatie van de implementatie van de 'Richtlijn mondzorg voor zorgafhankelijke cliënten in verpleeghuizen' [An evaluation of the implementation of the 'Guidelines for oral care for patients dependent on care']. Nederlands tijdschrift voor tandheelkunde, 123(5), 257–263. https://doi.org/10.5177/ntvt.2016.05.16123
27. Jongbloed-Zoet, C., Bol-van den Hil, E. M., La Rivière-Ilsen, J., & van der Sanden-Stoelinga, M. S. (2012). Dental hygienists in The Netherlands: the past, present and future. International journal of dental hygiene, 10(3), 148–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-5037.2012.00573.x
28. Nahum-Shani, I., Greer, Z.M., Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Carpenter, S.M., Rünger, D., Elashoff, D., Murphy, S. A., & Shetty, V. (2024). Optimizing an adaptive digital oral health intervention for promoting oral self-care behaviors: Micro-randomized trial protocol. Contemporary clinical trials, 139, 107464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2024.107464.
29. Patel, J., Kulkarni, S., Doshi, D., Reddy, B.S., Reddy, M.P., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2019). Determinants of oral hygiene behaviour among patients with moderate and severe chronic periodontitis based on the theory of planned behaviour. International dental journal, 69(1), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/idj.12413
30. Soldani, F. A., Lamont, T., Jones, K., Young, L., Walsh, T., Lala, R., & Clarkson, J. E. (2018). One-to-one oral hygiene advice provided in a dental setting for oral health. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 10(10), CD007447. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007447.pub2
31. Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Nahum-Shani, I., Shetty, V., Doshi-Velez, F., & Murphy, S.A. (2023). Reward Design For An Online Reinforcement Learning Algorithm Supporting Oral Self-Care. Proceedings of the ... Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference. Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference, 37(13), 15724–15730. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v37i13.26866
32. Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Nahum-Shani, I., Shetty, V., Doshi-Velez, F., & Murphy, S.A. (2022). Designing Reinforcement Learning Algorithms for Digital Interventions: Pre-Implementation Guidelines. Algorithms, 15(8), 255. https://doi.org/10.3390/a15080255
33. Vysniauskaite, S., & Vehkalahti, M.M. (2009). Impacts of toothbrushing frequency on periodontal findings in a group of elderly Lithuanians. Oral health & preventive dentistry, 7(2), 129–136.
2. Brein, D.J., Fleenor, T.J. Jr., Kim, S.W., & Krupat, E. (2016). Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Identify Predictors of Oral Hygiene: A Collection of Unique Behaviors. Journal of periodontology, 87(3), 312-18. https://doi: 10.1902/jop.2015.150239
3. Burrekers, S.Y., Doorman-Vasquez, M.C., Faes-Siebgens, M.J.C.M., Pascual, R.A., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2020). Self-Perceived Behavior and Process Evaluation of Bocas Sanas Holanda-Maimón (BSHM): From the Past to the Future. Biomedical journal of scientific & technical research, 26(5), https://biomedres.us/pdfs/BJSTR. MS.ID.004422.pdf
4. Burrekers, S.Y., Gortzak, J.J.C., Reyerse, E., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on oral health and oral self-care awareness. Oral health care, 5, 4-4. https://doi: 10.15761/OHC.1000195
5. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2010). World white teeth: Determinants and promotion of oral hygiene behavior in diverse contexts. [Thesis fully internal (DIV), Rijksuniversiteit Groningen]. s.n.
6. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Barelds, D.P.H., Dijkstra, A., & Buunk, A.P. (2024). An Adapted Scale for Oral Discomfort with AI Integration: Enhancing Education, Practice, and Research in Oral Health. Abstract-oral presentation at the ADEE – Association for Dental Education in Europe Annual Meeting in Leuven, Belgium September 7-10, 2024.
7. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y. A. B., Barelds, D. P. H., Dijkstra, A., & Buunk, A. P. (2025). A Two-Dimensional Scale for Oral Discomfort. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(3), 415. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22030415.
8. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. & Burrekers, S.Y. (2019). Effects and Benefits of a Program to Promote Tooth Brushing Among 12-Year-Old School Children in the Dominican Republic. Advances in dentistry & oral health, 10(5), 555799. https://doi: 10.19080/ADOH.2019.10.555799.
9. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., & Burrekers, S.Y. (2017) Oral health awareness, promotion of home oral self-care, and professional oral health care among young mothers and their babies: a pilot project. Oral health and care, 2(5), 1-4.
10. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Burrekers, S.Y., Jongboer, A., Quant, D.F., & van Maanen-Schakel, N,W. (2011). Determinants of oral hygiene behavior in the Dominican Republic. International dental journal, 61(6), 328–333. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1875-595X.2011.00083.x.
11. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Bink, P., van Zanten, S., & van der Schans, C.P. (2011b). Determinants and promotion of oral hygiene behaviour in the Caribbean and Nepal. International dental journal, 61(5), 267–273. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1875-595X.2011.00071.x
12. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y., Dijkstra-le Clercq, M., Verheggen-Udding, E., de Jong, N., & Spreen, M. (2012). Halitosis and oral health-related quality of life: a case report. International journal of dental hygiene, 10(1), 3–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-5037.2011.00512.x
13. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., & van der Schans, C.P. (2011a). Determinants of oral hygiene behavior: A study based on the theory of planned behavior. Community dentistry and oral epidemiology, 39(3), 250–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0528.2010.00589.x
14. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Van der Schans C.P., Jaso, M.E., Acevedo, S. & Parodi Estellano, G. (2008). Evaluación y promoción de la actitud hacia la higiene oral en pacientes de la Facultad de Odontología de la Universidad Católica del Uruguay [Evaluation and promotion of patients’ oral hygiene behavior in the faculty of Odontology of the Catolic University in Uruguay]. Actas Odontológicas, Vol. V No. 2 Julio-Diciembre 13-20.
15. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A., Schaub, R.M.H., Van der Schans, C.P. & Spreen, M. (2010). Oral health-related quality of life among imprisoned Dutch forensic psychiatric patients. Journal of forensic nursing, 6(3), 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-3938.2010.01079.x
16. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. Dijkstra, A & Schuit, K. (2012). Identification and evaluation of adequate oral hygiene behavior: The development of the MondiX®. 140th American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting (October 27 – October 31, 2012) in San Francisco, CA.
17. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y. A.B., Dijkstra, A., van der Wal, H., Basic, N., Loomans, S. A., van der Schans, C. P., & van der Meer, R. (2009). Promoting oral hygiene behavior in recruits in the Dutch Army. Military Medicine, 174(9), 971–976. https://doi.org/10.7205/milmed-d-05-0408
18. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Dijkstra, A. & Van der. Schans, C.P. (2009). Oral health-quality of life predictors depend on population. Applied research in quality of life, 4, 283-293.
19. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Gortzak, J.J.C., Sjoerts, J.E., & Frederiks, A. (2021). ‘Outspoken’ Oral Hygienists Promote Oral Health Care Awareness at Public Events for (Pregnant) Women and Young Mothers. Journal of dental hygiene science, 21, 140-9. https://doi.org/10.17135/ jdhs.2021.21.3.10
20. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., & Reyerse, E. (2020). What is the impact of oral (public) health promotion, and of interventions for oral (self) care awareness raising and behavior change? Journal of dentistry, oral disorders & therapy, 8, 1-4. http://dx.doi. org/10.15226/jdodt.2020.001114
21. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B., Takrovskaja, K., & Steverink-Jorna, L.M. (2018). Kidsfabriek, Oral health awareness and promotion of oral self-care during a learning and play event for children and parents in The Netherlands. Annual clinical journal of dental health, 7, 22-25.
22. Cantril, H. (1965). The pattern of human concerns. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, USA.
23. Elkerbout, T.A., Slot, D.E., Rijnen, M.E., & van der Weijden, G.A.F. (2023). Change in oral hygiene behaviour after non-surgical periodontal therapy - A retrospective analyses. International journal of dental hygiene, 21(1), 259–271. https://doi: 10.1111/idh.12593
24. Elsenberg, C.P.M., Sidiqi, S., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2022). Halitosis, what experiences and methods apply Dutch dental hygienists. International journal of dental hygiene, 20(2), 219–224. https://doi: 10.1111/idh.12554
25. Ghaffari, M., Rakhshanderou, S., Ramezankhani, A., Buunk-Werkhoven, Y., Noroozi, M., & Armoon, B. (2018). Are educating and promoting interventions effective in oral health?: A systematic review. International journal of dental hygiene, 16(1), 48–58. doi: 10.1111/idh.12305
26. Hoeksema, A.R., Meijer, H.J., Vissink, A., Raghoebar, G.M., & Visser, A. (2016). Een evaluatie van de implementatie van de 'Richtlijn mondzorg voor zorgafhankelijke cliënten in verpleeghuizen' [An evaluation of the implementation of the 'Guidelines for oral care for patients dependent on care']. Nederlands tijdschrift voor tandheelkunde, 123(5), 257–263. https://doi.org/10.5177/ntvt.2016.05.16123
27. Jongbloed-Zoet, C., Bol-van den Hil, E. M., La Rivière-Ilsen, J., & van der Sanden-Stoelinga, M. S. (2012). Dental hygienists in The Netherlands: the past, present and future. International journal of dental hygiene, 10(3), 148–154. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1601-5037.2012.00573.x
28. Nahum-Shani, I., Greer, Z.M., Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Carpenter, S.M., Rünger, D., Elashoff, D., Murphy, S. A., & Shetty, V. (2024). Optimizing an adaptive digital oral health intervention for promoting oral self-care behaviors: Micro-randomized trial protocol. Contemporary clinical trials, 139, 107464. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cct.2024.107464.
29. Patel, J., Kulkarni, S., Doshi, D., Reddy, B.S., Reddy, M.P., & Buunk-Werkhoven, Y.A.B. (2019). Determinants of oral hygiene behaviour among patients with moderate and severe chronic periodontitis based on the theory of planned behaviour. International dental journal, 69(1), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/idj.12413
30. Soldani, F. A., Lamont, T., Jones, K., Young, L., Walsh, T., Lala, R., & Clarkson, J. E. (2018). One-to-one oral hygiene advice provided in a dental setting for oral health. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 10(10), CD007447. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD007447.pub2
31. Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Nahum-Shani, I., Shetty, V., Doshi-Velez, F., & Murphy, S.A. (2023). Reward Design For An Online Reinforcement Learning Algorithm Supporting Oral Self-Care. Proceedings of the ... Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference. Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence Conference, 37(13), 15724–15730. https://doi.org/10.1609/aaai.v37i13.26866
32. Trella, A.L., Zhang, K.W., Nahum-Shani, I., Shetty, V., Doshi-Velez, F., & Murphy, S.A. (2022). Designing Reinforcement Learning Algorithms for Digital Interventions: Pre-Implementation Guidelines. Algorithms, 15(8), 255. https://doi.org/10.3390/a15080255
33. Vysniauskaite, S., & Vehkalahti, M.M. (2009). Impacts of toothbrushing frequency on periodontal findings in a group of elderly Lithuanians. Oral health & preventive dentistry, 7(2), 129–136.
Published
2025-04-30
How to Cite
Y. Burrekers, S., & A.B. Buunk-Werkhoven, Y. (2025). Identifying and monitoring oral hygiene behavior and oral comfort in individual patients in a private oral hygiene clinic. Health, Environment and Sustainable Development: Interdisciplinary Approach, (1), 16-24. https://doi.org/10.59476/hesdia.v0i1.691
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Articles
