Utility of knowledge, attitude, and practice survey, and prevalence of dental caries among 11- to 13-year-old children in an urban community in India

Abstract

BackgroundThe school oral health education program is believed to be a cost-effective method for promoting oral health. The KAP (knowledge–attitude–practice) model of oral health education is often the foundation of most health education programs.ObjectivesTo assess the existing knowledge, attitude, and oral health care practices among 11- to 13-year-old children and the association of knowledge with attitude, oral health care practices, and dental caries prevalence.DesignCross-sectional design, involving 858 children studying in class seven at various schools in the city of Mangalore, India. The children were selected using stratified random sampling method. Prevalence of dental caries was determined using decayed, missing, and filled permanent teeth (DMFT) index. A self-administered questionnaire on self-care practices in oral health, knowledge, and attitude toward oral health care was filled by children. The association of different variables with knowledge was analyzed using binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe dental caries prevalence was 59.4%, and 54.5% had low knowledge. They lacked knowledge regarding use of fluoridated toothpaste and did not use them. Children with low knowledge had significantly higher odds of having DMFT≥1, not using fluoridated toothpaste, and being afraid of going to the dentist due to possible pain. There was no association of other oral health care practices and attitudes with knowledge.ConclusionOral health care practices and attitudes are not fully explained by knowledge, and other models of health education need to be considered.

Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Children and Adolescents of Orphanages in Jodhpur City Rajasthan, India

“…Similar results were found in the study conducted by Baranya Shrikrishna Suprabha et al, in which majority of the children were having low knowledge as well as they were afraid of visiting the dentist and perceived dental appointments as unpleasant [7]. However, contradictory results were found by Arun Kumar et al, study on which 36.7% of the children avoided dental visits due to fear of pain and only 21.2% of the children felt the need of dental visits [5].…”

“…The results were in agreement with the study carried out by Arun Kumar et al, and Lonim Prasai Dixit et al, in which 75.3% of the children were not using any other teeth cleaning aide other than a toothbrush and 80% of the children rinsed their mouth with water after every meal respectively [5,8]. Whereas, studies carried out by Baranya Shrikrishna Suprabha et al, Vikram Khare et al, and Sushanth VH et al, a majority of the study population exhibited lack of awareness regarding use of fluoride, use of dental floss, and other tooth cleaning aides which were in contrast with the present study [4,7,9].…”

“…There have been very few studies carried out on the oral health status of orphan children which indicates that the oral health status of these children is poor and there is a special need of care [7][8][9].…”

“…High need of restorative and preventive treatment amongst orphan children has been highlighted in all the studies [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

Role of Mobile/Phone Text Messaging (Sms) for Providing Oral Health Education to Mothers of Primary School Children in Mangalore City: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

“…Reinforcement were provided at one two and three months for in the present study. It has been observed in a previous study that reinforcement through repeated sessions resulted in significant improvements in oral health knowledge and attitudes scores (Suprabha et al, 2013).…”