Misconceptions about Oral Health among Nigerian Primary School Teachers

(HATTON'S COMPETITION- SENIOR CATEGORY (CLINICAL))Objective: To identify the various misconceptions that still exists among teachers about oral health practices and their incorrect ideas about dental problems. Method: The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out between May and September 2008 among 640 primary school teachers in Oredo Local Government area of Benin City, Nigeria. Data collection was by the use of self –administered questionnaire. Results: A few of the respondents (39.6%) feel that tooth decay is caused by worms, 0.3% feel it is caused by black magic. Some (11.9%) also feel gingival bleeding is caused by worms. Tooth loss was considered a natural process by 43% of the respondents and 51.3% do not know if it is possible to keep all the teeth in the dentition for life. In addition 18.7% do not consider tooth loss a serious health problem. Traditional medicine was used after a toothache in 2.5% of cases while 6.5% of the respondents resulted to self medication. Improvement of oral hygiene by toothbrushing is considered ineffective in the prevention of gum disease by 15.3% of the respondents. Conclusion: This survey revealed that a few misconceptions still exist among teachers about what constitutes appropriate oral health practices and correct knowledge of oral diseases and remedies. These fallacies should therefore be corrected to prevent the teachers form impacting incorrect knowledge on the children they teach. In service training of the teachers is therefore recommended. Keywords: oral health, misconception, teachers