Self-medication practice for dental problems: a cross-sectional study among adults in Kuantan, Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia

Ismail, Azlini and Abdul Majid, Muhammad Nazmi and Mohd Haron, Muhammad Nabil and Abdul Halim, Mohd Firdaus Akbar and Mohd Ibrahim, Mohamad Shafiq and Abllah, Zurainie (2023) Self-medication practice for dental problems: a cross-sectional study among adults in Kuantan, Pahang in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of International Oral Health, 15 (2). pp. 184-193. ISSN 0976-7428

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Abstract

Aim: To investigate the prevalence, attitude, and pattern of self-medication practice for dental problems among adults in Kuantan, the state capital of Pahang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among adults over 18 years of age who live in Kuantan via self-administered online- and paper-based bilingual questionnaires. Descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis were run using IBM SPSS® Version 26 software. Results: From 275 respondents, one-fifth of respondents (21.8%) practised self-medication for dental problems and most of them obtained a mean attitude score of 21.7 ± 2.5% out of 25. Most self-medicating respondents were from the age group of 18–27 years (78.3%), females (55%), singles (78.3%), resides urban area (75.0%), and students (71.7%), with a household income of <MYR 3860 (46.7%), have no dental insurance (66.7 %), and did not have any family relationship with dental personnel (90.0%). Only gender has significant association with self-medication practice, X2 (1, N = 275) = 4.916, P < 0.05. Most of self-medicating respondents gained information related to self-medication from internet (62.0%) and obtained medication from pharmacy (78.0%). The major dental problem that triggered them to self-medicate was toothache (76.0%), and the majority used paracetamol for pain relief (62.0%). Their main reason for self-medication was the perceived mildness of the dental problems (60.0%). Conclusion: Adult populations in Kuantan, Pahang have moderate prevalence (21.8%) in self-medicating practice for dental problems which was mainly caused by toothache and was primarily treated with over-the-counter pain-relief medication. They also have good attitude toward appropriate self-medication.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Attitude, Dental, Dentistry, Kuantan, Malaysia, Pattern, Prevalence, Pahang, Self-Medication, Treatment Need
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA643 Communicable Diseases and Public Health R Medicine > RK Dentistry R Medicine > RM Therapeutics. Pharmacology
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Dentistry Kulliyyah of Dentistry > Department of Fundamental Dental and Medical Sciences Kulliyyah of Dentistry > Department of Paediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health
Depositing User:	DR. AZLINI ISMAIL
Date Deposited:	02 May 2023 17:08
Last Modified:	03 Jan 2024 13:59
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/104537

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