KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE OF ORAL HEALTH AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping mouth and teeth healthy by regular tooth brushing and flossing. In the past few decades there is an increase in the incidence of oral hygiene problems like caries and ulcers among young children but due to lack of attention and knowledge it is coming up as a major issue among teens. Objectives:1) To determine knowledge and practice of oral health among higher secondary school students. 2) To compare knowledge and practice of oral hygiene among male and female students. Design, Duration and Setting of Study: The study was Descriptive, and duration was about 6 months Setting: Higher secondary schools of Wah Cantt. Sampling technique: purposive sampling Subjects and Methods: Subjects included 370 students from 14-17 years of age including male and female both, from different schools of Wah Cantt. A questionnaire was given to them and then evaluated on the basis of answers about knowledge and practice. Purposive sampling technique was used. Results: Out of 370 students 9.2% of students have good, 40.3% have average, and 50.5% have poor oral hygiene . Similarly, 4.9% have good,45.9% have average and 49.2% have poor knowledge about oral hygiene. Cross tabulation showed males had better knowledge and practice than females. Conclusion: Majority of the students have poor knowledge and practice of oral hygiene, but male students were better regarding knowledge and practice of oral health as compared to female students