Dental health self care among school going children of Peshawar

Objectives: to assess the knowledge of oral health,practices/care of oral hygiene and pattern of dental problems among school going children of peshawar. material and methods: this cross-sectional study was conducted during september,2016 and october,2016. a total of 400 children from three different schools of peshawar with age range 12 to 17 years were evaluated. a pre-designed/ pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect the data. the major questions asked were regarding the knowledge of oral health,self dental care,and about dentist visits. then dental examination was performed by the trained dentists. the data was analyzed with standard statistical methods. results: male to female ratio was 3.2:1 in the current study. the overall level of oral health knowledge was found below the standard level among the participants. the frequency of toothpaste,brushing once a day was observed in 62.75% and two times per day in 9.75% children. only 09% school children had visited the dentists within the past 6 months. dental caries was found the most common dental problem (27.5%) followed by the plaque (20.25%) while fluorosis was least common (1%) in our study subjects. the prevalence of sensitivity,bleeding gum,malocclusion and tooth loss was 5.25%,2.75%,10.25% and 4.75% respectively. females and higher class students were found comparatively more careful regarding the oral health and dentist visits. conclusion: the knowledge and practices cum care of the school children of this particular area related to oral health is below satisfactory level. © 2017,khyber medical college. all rights reserved.