Relationship between oral health knowledge, practices and oral health status of students, Tanga Tanzania

Abstract

Background: Studies have shown that strong knowledge on oral health demonstrates better oral care practice and an association between increased knowledge and better oral health exists. Aim: To assess the influence of oral health knowledge and oral care practices to oral health status of secondary school students in Tanga, Tanzania. Subjects and Methods: A structured questionnaire was used to assess students’ oral health knowledge and oral care practices while oral health status was determined by a clinical examination. Bi-variate and logistic regression analyses were done and level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: 785 students participated in the study. Proportionately more students who reported to use charcoal, salt/or sand to clean their teeth (66.9%) were significantly more likely to be caries free compared to those who reported to use toothpaste (51.2%), (p= 0.001). Students who reported to brush their teeth after breakfast (57.5%) and/or having visited a dentist within the past 12 months (58.8%) were more likely to have one or more decayed teeth than their counterparts (45.2%), (p= 0.049) and (38.1%) (p= 0.0001) respectively. With the exception of using dental floss (p= 0.023), there were no statistical significant relationships between oral health knowledge, oral care practices with supra-gingival calculus accumulation. In logistic regression analysis students who reported to have visited a dentist during the past twelve months (OR= 2.32; 95% CI 1.728-3.115, p=0.0001), or used fluoridated tooth paste as an adjuvant while brushing their teeth (OR= 1.931; 95% CI 1.272-2.932, p= 0.002) were more likely to have at least one decayed tooth than their counterparts. Conclusion: Participants’ knowledge on oral health issues has no influence on oral health status, visiting a dentist is associated with presence of dental caries and participants’ who reported to use charcoal, salt and/or sand are more likely to have less caries than those using toothpaste.