An Evaluation of High School Female Student’s Knowledge and Behaviour Regarding Oral Hygiene

Abstract

In today’s world, due to incensement of communication and different social relationship between people, oral health and aesthetic are considered more important than the past. The aim of this study was to assess the level of knowledge and behaviour of Gonbadkavoos, northern Iran high school female students regarding their oral hygiene and health status. In this descriptive study cluster, sampling technique was used to select 300 samples. The level of knowledge of each individual was assessed according to their information on the causes of caries, the preventive effect of fluoride supplement and so on. In terms of their oral health behaviour, tooth brushing frequency, use of dental floss and regular dentist visit were recorded. Results revealed that 80% of the students were aware of the fluoride preventive action and 18% of them replied, "I don’t know", to this question. Parents were identified as their main source of oral health information by 68.3% of them and 12.6% identified the microbial activity as the main cause of dental caries. 44.3% of students expressed lack of time as the main reason for irregular dentist visit and 70% of them stated, only upon dental problems, referred to the dentist. Sixty two percent of the students brushed their teeth regularly. It is recommended to do similar researches on the level of knowledge and behaviour, about dental and oral health in other populations.