A CROSS-SECTIONAL RESEARCH TO ESTIMATE THE KNOWLEDGE LEVEL AND ITS SOURCE ABOUT ORAL HEALTH AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN

Objective: The objective of this research was to evaluate the awareness of the school-going children about oral hygiene practices, dental diseases, dental clinic visit pattern and dietary habits in order to indicate the information source about dental health. Patients and Methods: We carried out this cross-sectional research at Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore from October 2018 to August 2019 on students who were attending school and they were enrolled in the age bracket of (12 – 16) years. The research sample included a total of 303 children from sixth grade to tenth grade. They were made the part of this research after verbal consent and fulfilling the inclusion criteria. All the participants fulfilled the dedicated questionnaire in order to record the responses of the students. Results: All the students had a strong believe about caries that it poses a negative effect on the oral and dental health and it also attributes in the onset of dental caries. The response about the effect on dental health was reported by 76 students (25%) for getting aware by the dentists; whereas, 114 students (37.75%) got themselves educated from their teachers and remaining 113 students (37.25%) gained knowledge from their guardians or parents. A total of 76 students (25%) also knew that soft drink deteriorates oral health which was communicated by their dentists; while 110 students (36%) do consider soft drinks harmful for the oral health and 117 students (39%) did not know the harmful effects of soft drink. About 56% children reported that they visit dentists because of carries; whereas, bleeding gums was reported the other reason among 10.7% children to pay a visit to dentist. Conclusion: The major sources of information were dentists, parents and school teachers who informed children about the importance of oral health along with its association with brushing frequency and effect of caries and soft drinks on oral health. Most of the students got informed at school by their teachers. School play a pivotal role in the education of oral health to children through formal and informal awareness programmes. Keywords: Oral Hygiene Habits, Oral Health, Students, Diet, Teachers, Parents and Media