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ANALYSIS OF ORAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AND BEHAVIOR AMONG STUDENTS OF AGE 9-18 YEARS IN PAKISTAN

Dr Hafsa Kaleem, Dr Aneeza Ayyaz, Dr Hadia Wali

Abstract: Introduction: Oral health is a state of being in which an individual is free from mouth and facial pain, oral and throat cancer, oral infection and sores, periodontal disease, tooth decay, tooth loss, and other diseases and disorders that limit an individual’s capacity to bite, chew, smile, speak, as well as his or her psychosocial wellbeing. Objective of the study: The main objective of this study is to analyze the oral health knowledge and behavior among students of age 9-18 years in Pakistan. Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Rashid Latif Dental College Lahore during November 2018 to April 2019. A total of 100 school-going children from three schools of Lahore. All children falling between age limit 9 to 18 years and permanent residents of the area were included. The data was collected through a questionnaire. The designed questionnaire contained questions that were closed-ended, and some were multiple-choice items with alternative statements. Results: The data was collected from 200 participants. In the present study, students of 05 to 10 classes were evaluated. Therefore, the socioeconomic status was considered to be homogenous. Eleven male students from high classes were found habituated to cigarette smoking. Females scored more favorably in knowledge and behaviors concerning dental health particularly a significant difference (P <0.05) in brushing habit was observed between the two genders. Twenty-four (06%) students mentioned that they used miswak, as believed it to be the best oral care from the religious point of view. While 27.5 % were not cleaning their teeth every day. Conclusion: It is concluded that most of our school children had knowledge of oral health below satisfactory level. Among 9–18-year olds found that girls had better knowledge about dental health, but attitudes toward dental health were not significantly different between genders.

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