ORAL HYGIENE OF STUDENTS IN PRIVATE SCHOOLS OF CANTONMENT REGION LAHORE; AWARENESS & CURRENT STATUS

Abstract

Objective:

To determine document the comparison of oral hygiene status amongst different groups of school going children.

Materials and Methods:

A cross section study was condducted started from march 2017 to May 2017 at contorment region of Lahore. The sample size consisted of 4566 individuals categorized in to two groups; 7-12 years old (n= 4356) & 16-21 years old (n= 210). Examiners were calibrated to perform check up on a modified WHO Oral health assessment forms with dental mirrors in natural daylight. Oral hygiene, gingivitis & calculus were the recorded measures. Another parameter measured was bleeding gums with a simple yes & no answer amongst the two age groups. The students were given dental hygiene awareness & subsequently referred for treatment. Chi square test was used to check association. SPSS version 20 was used for analysis.

Results:

Out of total 4556 students, 7-12-year-old group 1416 (33.40%) were marked with good oral hygiene with proper maintenance, 1828 (43.10%) had fair oral hygiene with occasional mild staining while 994 (23.50%) were categorised with poor oral hygiene with occasional brushing. In the 16-21 year old age category, a total of 202 students were checked. Amongst them, 41 (20.30%) fell in the good hygiene category, 136 (43.10%) had fair oral hygiene while 25 (12.40%) were categorized as having poor oral hygiene. Most of the students in 7-12 years’ age group had no bleeding gums. (p-value <0.001). There was association between calculus and age group (p-value < 0.001).

Conclusion:

High level of unmet dental health care still exists in Lahore as reflected by the comparison groups by their poor oral hygiene.