IADR Abstract Archives

Assessment of Oral-hygiene-status, gingival-health and tooth-brushing-skills among standard-II pupils, Tanzania

Objectives: To determine the oral hygiene status, gingival health and tooth brushing skills of primary school pupils in Dar es Salaam following the use of plaque disclosing agent and supervised tooth brushing.
Methods: This cluster randomized controlled field trial study had two interventions and a control group; oral health education and supervised tooth brushing, oral health education and use of plaque disclosing agent as a means of guiding tooth brushing, and only oral health education.
A total of 245 children in Standard II, aged 7 to 8 years formed the baseline population and 231 children were assessed following intervention. Administered questionnaire was used to determine socio-demographic information and oral hygiene practices. Clinical examination determined presence/absence of dental plaque and gingival bleeding. Tooth brushing skills was also assessed before and after intervention. Gathered information was analysed using SPSS version 20.0 and level of statistical significance was p<0.05.
Results: There was equal number of pupils by sex (F=50.2%) and age (8 yrs=50.2%), with parents of average education and occupational status. Frequency of bushing at least twice a day was performed by 8.2% of children. Less than a quarter (26.5%) was supervised at home during tooth brushing. Mean plaque score, gingival bleeding and tooth brushing skills were 26.0, 5.8 and 0.2, at baseline and 20.3, 3.4 and 0.7 at follow up. Intervention using plaque disclosing agent had statistical significant effect on plaque and gingival bleeding score while supervised tooth brushing had statistical significant effect on plaque and tooth brushing skills.
Conclusions: This study found that majority of the children had poor oral hygiene, unhealthy gingiva and had no tooth brushing skills at baseline. Supervised tooth brushing showed positive effect on pupil’s tooth brushing skills and oral hygiene status. The use of plaque disclosing agent positively influenced pupils’ oral hygiene status and gingival healthy.

African and Middle Eastern Region Meeting
2017 African and Middle Eastern Region Meeting (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2017

Pediatric Oral Health Research
  • Maya, Mercy  ( Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences , Dar Es Salaam , Tanzania, United Republic of )
  • Kahabuka, Febronia  ( Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences , Dar Es Salaam , Tanzania, United Republic of )
  • Mbawalla, Hawa  ( Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences , Dar Es Salaam , Tanzania, United Republic of )
  • None
    Poster Session
    2017 African and Middle Eastern Region Meeting (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)