Objective: Oral Health an integral part of medical care has been neglected among the population. This has been attributed to the low level of education, social economic status, and age, among others. This study is designed to assess the perception of fresh graduates (Youth Corpers) posted to Ibadan North Local Government area in Oyo State to Oral health.
Method: A descriptive, cross sectional study, involving a total of 103 Youth Corpers from Ibadan North Local Government area was conducted. The study obtained information on socio-demographic data, knowledge, attitude and practices towards oral health through the use of a structured questionnaire.
Results: A total of 38 (36.9%) were males, while 65 (63.1%) were females. Twenty-five participants (24.3%) were polytechnic graduates while 78(75.7%) were university graduates from the 6 geopolitical zones of Nigeria. The majority (61.2%) of the participants had never visited the dentist before. Of those who had 30 (75%) did so for symptomatic reasons. The remaining 10(25%) visits were for routine check up.
Forty-eight (46.6%) participants had above-average knowledge of oral health and 36 (75%) out of these were university graduates.
Almost two thirds of participants were unaware that dental problems or diseases could be prevented. About forty percent of the participants displayed negative attitude to oral health care.
Conclusion: This study shows that despite the high level of education, there is still a significant level of ignorance to oral health exhibited by the educated class of the society. Recommendation is hereby made for oral health awareness programmes to be included in the university and polytechnic curricula. Refresher programmes can be organized for the Youth Corpers during their camp.