Assessing the Necessity of Dietary Education in Oral Health Programs for Young Adults

Background: This study aimed to assess the necessity of incorporating dietary education into oral care programs for adults in their 20s and to propose a framework for developing dietary education platforms.Methods: This study included 200 adults in their 20s.A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on participants' experiences with oral care and dietary education.The adult nutrition quotient (NQ) Questionnaire proposed by the Korean Nutrition Society was used to assess the nutritional status.The questionnaire included 18 checklist items comprise three factors: nutritional balance, moderation of the amount of food intake, and dietary behavior.After completing the survey, the participants were divided into two groups based on their history of dietary education.The nutritional status of dietary education experience (DE) and no dietary education experience (NDE) was analyzed and compared.Results: Among the participants, 97 (48.5%) reported having received oral care education, while 30 (30.9%) reported receiving dietary education within the past year.In the DE group, 46.7% consumed a balanced diet, compared to 17.1% in the NDE group (p0.001).However, 86.7% of the DE group showed low food moderation despite receiving dietary education (p0.01).Appropriate dietary behaviors were observed in 60.0% of the DE group, whereas 41.7% showed adequate dietary behaviors (p=0.108).In addition, 23.3% of the DE group showed good NQ, compared to 19.4% in the NDE group (p=0.198).Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed the possibility of a good nutritional status among the individuals who received dietary education.However, considering the low proportion of participants who had undergone dietary education, dental hygienists must recognize the importance of including diet-related content into oral care education.