Frequency of Dental Caries & Oral Hygiene Practices Among Female College Students

Abstract

Dental caries continues to be a major public health problem despite credible scientific advances and the facts that caries is preventable. Poor oral health condition can have negative impact on children's academic and social performance. This cross-sectional study aimed to access the dental caries knowledge and dental hygiene practices of 12-13 years old urban and rural Myanmar school children. A total of 220, 12-to 13-year-old schoolchildren (110 urban children and 110 rural children) were examined by one calibrated dentist using the DMFT; WHO criteria and self-administered structured questionnaires. The prevalence rates of dental caries on urban and rural students were 60 % and 46.36 % respectively. Just over 10 % of urban and rural school children recognized good level of knowledge in dental caries. 96.4% and 82.7% of the each urban and rural respondent brushed their teeth two or more times per day but only 31.8% and 17.3% of urban and rural students received fissure sealant treatment. While 72.7% of urban school children had been received oral health education every three months, the percentage of rural students was only 10.9%. Students who had been visited to dental clinic for dental checkup during last year were 40% for urban school and 19.1% for rural school. Most of the urban and rural students were at fair level of knowledge on dental caries (75.5% and 72.7% respectively) and dental hygiene practices (70.9% and 61.8% respectively). There is a difference in the prevalence of dental caries between rural and urban Myanmar school children. The findings of this study highlight an essential need to emphasize on preventative and community dentistry strategies to meet the primary needs of school children and increase awareness of dental caries.