Objective: In an effort to examine the decreasing oral health trend of Australian dental
patients, the Health Belief Model (HBM) was utilised to understand the beliefs underlying
brushing and flossing self-care. The HBM states that perception of severity and susceptibility
to inaction and an estimate of the barriers and benefits of behavioural performance influences
people’s health behaviours. Self-efficacy, confidence in one’s ability to perform oral selfcare,
was also examined.