Oral Health Knowledge, Practices And Status Of Students, Tanga Tanzania

Method: Oral health knowledge, practices and oral health status of 785 secondary school students was determined by means of a questionnaire and clinical examination. Cross tabulations and Chi-square tests determined the level of statistical significance at p<0.05. Also the oral health practices of students by their dental caries status was performed using logistic regression (odds ratios =95% CI).

Result: Oral health knowledge and practices were similar among subjects regardless of their oral health status; however_, students who were caries free were statistically significantly more and compared to those with caries who reported the use of fluoridated tooth paste. Contrastingly, there were statistically significantly many more students with dental caries (n=42;57.5%) who reported the practice of brushing teeth after breakfast. The practice of having ever visited a dentist within the past 12 months was statistically significantly more among students with dental caries (n= 184;58.8%).

Conclusion: The oral health status of students with regard to dental caries, plaque and calculus accumulation in general showed no relationship with reported level of oral health knowledge. However, with regard to oral health practices a higher proportion of students who were caries free, reported the practice of using fluoridated tooth paste as an adjuvant while brushing their teeth and contrastingly those with caries reported brushing their teeth after breakfast and having visited a dentist within the past 12 months.