The Use of Floss in Medical Faculties of Inner Mongolia Medical University in 2017

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to determine the degree of using floss and the demographic characteristics of medical faculties of Inner Mongolia Medical University. Materials and Methods: Participants completed the questionnaire in the classroom. These participants came from the medical faculties of Chinese Medicine and Western Medicine. These participants were interviewed to determine the demographic characteristics. Non-flossors responded according to their reasons for not flossing. Results: A total of 3481 effective data were available for analysis. The floss prevalence was 17.21%, which was lower by 5.72% for students living in rural areas, when compared to students living in urban areas. The largest proportion of non-flossing participants in rural areas answered, “I do not know what a floss is”, while participants in urban answered, “I do not want to use it”. The largest proportion of answered flossing frequency was less than once a month. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the prevalence of using floss in medical faculties in Inner Mongolia Medical University was higher, when compared to that in Sichuan province, China, but lower than that in other countries. Although the students use floss, more than one-third of students use floss less than once a month, which is close to “never”. The prevalence in rural areas is lower than those in urban areas. Male not only comprises the total number of prevalence, but also has a frequency greater than that in females. The emphasis on using floss should be improved in medical students.