Publication:

Oral hygiene practices and knowledge among children of age 10-13 years in a private school in Chennai, South India

Background Oral health is an important and proven determinant of overall health and quality of life. It is well established that oral health and non-communicable diseases share common risk factors. Our study was designed to assess the practice and knowledge of oral health among 10-13 years old because at this age, lifelong beliefs and essential skills are developed.

Methods A cross-sectional study was done by randomly selecting students from V to VIII standards in a private school. Data was collected using a pre-designed questionnaire. The results were analysed using ‘Jamovi’ software with 'Pearson Chi-square test’ and a p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results Out of the 210 students, only around 1/3rd of the students used both brush with toothpaste, and dental floss to clean their teeth. 123 (58.6%) students brushed twice a day. The association between the frequency of brushing and the age groups was statistically significant. Gender played a role in the duration of brushing.

Conclusions It can be noted from our study that the oral practices and knowledge was better in 10-11 years olds than the 12-13-year olds and better in girls than in boys. Thus, oral education must be tailor made based on the calibre of a particular group instead of ‘one for all’ method.