A novel behavioral model in initiation and sustenance of toothbrushing behavior among dental and medical students in India: an exploratory analysis

Purpose: Toothbrushing holds key importance in practical, competent, and efficacious design to limit the formation of dental plaque on the dental tissues, in turn, leading to a decrease in dental diseases. The recent addition to this growing knowledge in health behavior research is the multi-theory model (MTM) which addresses two crucial modules of health behavior: initiation and sustenance. In spite of reinforcing the habit of brushing twice daily, a lack of sustenance is found among young adults; hence, the objectives were to explore the substratal structure of MTM and to test the fit of MTM questionnaire in dental and medical students in India. Methodology: A questionnaire aimed at addressing sociodemographic information and MTM was designed. Reliability analysis was performed and explorative analysis was done using principal component analysis as the factor extraction method. Construct validity was investigated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to add a level of statistical. Results: Reliability analysis revealed a Cronbach's alpha value of 0.892 and split-half reliability value of 0.779. Test–retest reliability was found to be 0.77 (P < 0.01). Guttman split-half reliability was found to be 0.677. EFA suggested seven domains. Indices for model fit showed good fit with P < 0.01. Conclusion: The present study concludes that the Indian version of MTM is a reliable and valid instrument for measuring the initiation and sustenance of toothbrushing behavior in dental and medical students in India.