Oral Hygiene Practices among Secondary School Students in Jos

OBJECTIVE: A cross-sectional study to determine the Oral hygiene practices of 1664 Junior and Senior Secondary School Students selected by random sampling from 12 schools in Jos Metropolis and Environs. METHOD: Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire on oral health practice. RESULT: 978 (58.8%) of the sampled population were males while 686 (41.2%) were females. Seven hundred and ninety four (47.7%) of the students lived in the urban area while 870 (52.3%) were from the rural setting. The mean age of the students was 16.15 ± 2.67 years. The main material used in teeth cleaning is toothbrush and toothpaste as reported by 1588 (95.4%) of the students. The toothbrush/paste use is the most common oral hygiene practice (95.4%) by the students. A low level of awareness of oral health as evidenced by dental visitations was reported in only 8.6% of the students while 85.3% visited for the purpose of treatment, and mostly in the rural schools (P < 0.05). No association was found between mother’s educational level and teeth cleaning of their wards (P = 0.767). There was a significant association between gender and frequency of teeth cleaning (P = 0.000) and dental visit (P = 0.049).CONCLUSION: Tooth brushing was the most common oral hygiene practice among the sampled population. There is need for the provision of adequate oral health education and regular school dental check-ups, with emphasis on the rural communities.The study was funded by a grant from RCORTI for Africa, Jos.