Dental caries and oral health behaviour situation of children, mothers and schoolteachers in Wuhan, People's Republic of China

Abstract

This study was undertaken in order to describe the occurrence of dental caries in Chinese schoolchildren and to highlight the oral health behaviour situation. Clinical examinations of grade 1 children (age 6, n=381) and grade 6 children (age 12, n=413) were performed. At age 6, 86 per cent of the children were affected by dental caries and at age 12 the mean DMFT index was 1.0. Personal interviews with the mothers (n=691) showed that dental care habits of children were poor; 22 per cent of all children brushed their teeth twice a day and 20 per cent had seen the dentist within the past 12 months. Very few children (4 per cent) had practical support from their parents in daily toothcleaning. Self-administered questionnaires for schoolteachers (n=138) revealed that most (85 per cent) are positive towards oral health education of children. Systematic school-based programmes should be implemented to promote oral health.