Oral hygiene practices among adolescents in Port Harcourt – a school-based study

Objective: To assess the oral hygiene practices of a Nigerian adolescent's population.Methods: A cross-sectional survey of students from selected junior secondary schools in Niger-delta region of Nigeria was carried out to determine the oral hygiene practices of young adolescents. A self-administered questionnaire was used to elicit information on oral hygiene measures, frequency/timing of mouth cleaning, the choices and maintenance of mouth cleaning aids. Information elicited were coded, digitally processed and analyzed using SPSS version 20.Results: One hundred and ninety two subjects aged 12 to 15 years and mean 13.3(±1.1) years participated. Majority 190(99%) cleaned their teeth with tooth brush and paste and most participants 139 (72.4%) brushed twice daily. About three-quarter of the participants brushed early in the morning, before breakfast and 69 (35.9%) used dental floss. More than a quarter of the study participants (28.6%) indicated that their choice of toothbrush type was influenced by their dentists even as 100 (52.1%) changed their tooth brushes at intervals of 3 to 4 months. Females cleaned their teeth after breakfast and after ingesting refined carbohydrates more frequently than their male counterparts. The levels of parents' education had no statistically significant impact on the number of times or the timing of oral hygiene practice by the pupils.Conclusion: The use of toothbrush/toothpaste and twice daily brushing were practiced by majority of the participants. Maintenance of mouth cleaning aids was fair, however, the use of dental floss is not yet a common practice among this group of adolescents.Keywords: Oral Hygiene Practices, Adolescents, Nigeri