scholarly journals Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Primary School Children In Rural Areas of Assiut Governorate

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
D. B. Padmini ◽  
Selvi Thangaraj ◽  
T. S. Ranganath ◽  
Netravati Ambiger

Background: Oral health is an integral part of the general health and well being of an individual. Dental caries, periodontal disease and oral mucosal disease constitute the major oral health problems in developing countries. To follow healthy oral habits it is essential to have good oral health knowledge and attitude. Good oral health related knowledge among school children is considered to be an essential prerequisite for improving oral health in a community. The objective of the study was to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practice among school children in rural field practice area of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), Bengaluru.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 140 middle school children choosen randomly from government schools of Nelamangala, Rural field practice area of BMCRI, during September - November 2016. Data was collected using semi- structured questionnaire by interview method and was analyzed by descriptive statistics.Results: Out of 140 students, 67 were males, 73 were females. 49 (35%) students knew that sweetened food or drinks causes dental caries. 60 (42.86%) of them knew that there can be decay of tooth if they do not brush daily. 120 (85.71%) agreed that self care is important to prevent dental problems. 82 (58.57%) had a practice of brushing teeth twice daily.Conclusions: In the present study, there is a gap in the oral health knowledge and practice among school children, which needs to be filled up by regular oral health education to children, parents and teachers as well.


Author(s):  
Jasmine Sharmila M. K. ◽  
Umadevi R. ◽  
Anantha Eashwar V. M.

Background: Oral health is fundamental to general health and well-being. To organize community oriented oral health promotion programs, systematic analysis of oral health is mandatory which includes information on oral health knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP). The study was done with the aim to assess the KAP on oral hygiene among primary school children in an urban area of Kancheepuram district, Tamil Nadu.Methods: A sample of 250 primary school children in the age group of  8-10  at Anakaputhur,  an urban field practice  area of Sree Balaji Medical College and Hospital, Kancheepuram district was chosen by multi-stage sampling technique.Data on oral hygiene was collected by using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire by personal interview method. The data obtained was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS version 22.Results: Among the study participants, 65.6% of children had good knowledge on oral hygiene with only 33.6% of children with positive attitude and 10.8% of children had good practice of oral hygiene. Around 96 % of the children knew that they should brush their teeth twice daily, 92% of the children knew that having sweets/fizzy drinks causes oral health problems and 96% of the children think that maintaining healthy teeth is an individual responsibility.Conclusions: Health education services at school regarding oral hygiene practices targeting the children, teachers and the parents have to be conducted at regular intervals to empower them on the benefits of the same.


2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Syarifah Haizan Sayed Kamar ◽  
Noor Inani Jelani ◽  
Noraini Mohamad Nor

Introduction: Mothers play important roles in their children's oral health. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between mothers’ sociodemographic backgrounds and their oral health knowledge, attitude and practice of their preschool children. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 149 mothers of 4 to 6-year-old preschool children from selected kindergartens. Stratified cluster sampling was done to select kindergartens from urban and suburban areas in Kuantan, Pahang. Knowledge and attitude of mothers were assessed using selfadministered questionnaires and children's oral health practice was recorded using three days tooth brushing diary. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16.0. Results: Mothers had high oral health knowledge (Mean score 73.6%, SD 1.3%) and attitude (Mean score 73.2%, SD 2.4%) scores. Significant relationships were reported between mothers' oral health knowledge and age (p=0.037), educational status (p0.05). Conclusion(s): Lack of further education, low household income and living further away from the city contributed to low oral health knowledge and poor oral health attitude among mothers, towards their preschool children. Younger mothers had lower oral health knowledge, whereas older mothers had poorer oral health attitude.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyu Kyu Swe

Abstract Background: Oral diseases are common and widespread around the world. Many oral health problems are preventable and early onset is reversible. Myanmar faces many challenges in rendering oral health services and about 70 percent of total population resides in rural areas. These relate to the availability and accessibility of oral health services. Therefore, oral health education is one key element to prevent oral diseases and to promote oral health.Methods: A quasi-experimental study was carried out at Basic Education Middle Schools in rural areas of Magway Township to study the effectiveness of oral health education on knowledge and behavior of eight to ten years old school children. A total of 220 school children, 110 from intervention school and 110 from control school, participated in this study from 2015 to 2017. Data for knowledge and behavior were collected before and after intervention in the two groups by using self-administered questionnaire. Tooth brushing method data were collected by direct observation with checklist. Oral health education was provided at eight weekly intervals for one year in the intervention group. After one year and six months, oral health knowledge and behavior were determined in the intervention group only to measure retention. Chi-square test, two samples t test, One way repeated measure ANOVA were used for data analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Review Committee of University of Public Health in Yangon, Myanmar.Results: After education, a positive net effect of intervention and significant improvement was found in the intervention group compared to the control group regarding oral health knowledge (p<0.05) except one that is foods that can cause dental caries (p=0.107) and behavior (p<0.001). Retention of mean ± standard deviation on knowledge and behavioral scores were 2.45±1.12, 3.79±1.12, 4.07±0.98 and 1.56±0.90, 3.60±1.21, 3.24±1.31 at baseline, at one year after education and at six months after cessation of education respectively, and, total knowledge and behavioral scores were significantly improved (p<0.001) among the school children in the intervention group.Conclusion: The repeated oral health education was effective to promote and sustain oral health knowledge and behavior. Word counts: 342


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 437-443
Author(s):  
Fatemah A. Ahmad ◽  
Mazen K. Alotaibi ◽  
Mohammad Abdul Baseer ◽  
Sanaa M. Shafshak

Abstract Objectives The primary aim of the current study is to relate oral health knowledge, attitude, and oral hygiene practice with the periodontal condition of both undergraduate and postgraduate dental students. Materials and Methods Data were collected through a combination of self-reported questionnaire and clinical examination. The estimated sample size was 246. Probing depths and clinical attachment loss were measured in interproximal sites, whereas the gingival index was calculated based on Ramfjord teeth. The Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Periodontology classification was used for periodontal diagnosis. The subjects were divided into three groups. Group 1 was composed of undergraduate, preclinical dental students, group 2 consisted of undergraduate clinical-year dental students, whereas group 3 included postgraduate residents. Results A total of 296 dental students participated in this study. Significant differences were found among the groups in their oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice scores. Gingival disease was detected among most of the participants (99.2–100%) with significant differences between different educational levels (group 1 = 1.13, group 2 = 1.16, group 3 = 0.96, p-value = 0.001). Sixty percent of dental students were diagnosed with periodontal disease regardless of its severity. A positive correlation was established between oral health knowledge and attitude and oral hygiene practice. In addition, gingival inflammation severity and the severity of periodontal disease showed a positive correlation. Conclusions This study highlighted the need to improve the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practice of dental students. Gingival and periodontal inflammation was highly prevalent among participants.


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