THE IMPORTANCE OF ORAL HEALTH BEHAVIOUR OF CHILDREN FOR THEIR ORAL HEALTH

Introduction. Caries or tooth decay regardless of the good knowledge of the nature of the disease and the possibility of its effective prevention is still the most widespread disease in our population. It also very often threatens the functions of organs and even the entire organism. Health culture is an integral part of general culture and health education plays an important role in maintaining health of individuals. Aim. The main objective of this study is to determine the influence of oral health behaviour of schoolchildren aged 12 to 14 on their oral health. The schoolchildren attended the seventh and eight grade at Drago Milovic Elementary School in Tivat. Method. The survey was conducted during the period from the end of January to April 2015 at Drago Milovic Elementary School in Tivat. It comprised all seventh and eight-graders that were at school those days. The survey instrument was a questionnaire specially designed for this study and it consisted of 36 closed-ended questions. Clinical examination of oral health in children was used as an additional research instrument. Assessment of oral health was carried out under natural light with dental mirror and probe according to WHO recommendations. The parameter used to assess the state of oral health was DMFT index — the number of carious, extracted and filled teeth. In addition, the assessment of oral hygiene was conducted using soft debris index according to Green-Vermillion which determines absence or presence, quantity and distribution of dental plaque and other soft deposits. Results. The majority of students stated that they lack knowledge regarding the effectiveness of fluoride toothpaste (69.4%). It was found that the lowest incidence of caries occurred among those students who think that teeth should be brushed after every meal, and the highest incidence of this diagnosis occurred in respondents who think that teeth should be brushed once a day. Half of the surveyed students believe that teeth should be brushed most often after every meal and more than half of excellent students (55.6%) believe so. DMFT index for study population was 1.87 while Green-Vermillion soft debris score of oral hygiene was 2 in largest number of students (49.5%). Conclusion. Looking at the results it can be concluded that dental care in this area does not significantly affect the improvement of oral health in children. Therefore a greater attention should be paid to continuous education programmes and gaining knowledge about oral health and hygiene of the mouth and teeth