The knowledge, attitude and practice of grade 5 students regarding oral hygiene

The improvement of the oral hygiene among people requires assessments to be done among the objective age groups regarding the issue. Furthermore, the students in the younger age groups are more concerned due to their important role in the oral hygiene programs. The present study investigated the knowledge, attitude and practice of the primary school students (level 5) of East Tehran regarding oral hygiene (districts 3,4, 12 and 15) on 2010-2011.Methods and Materials:This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done on 432 grade 5 primary students selected by means of cluster sampling. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used including 23 items (12 items of knowledge, 9 items for attitude, and 2 different items). The respondents received 1 score for each correctly answered knowledge item and their attitudes were determined by summing the scores classified by a 5-scaled lickert measure. The effects of demographic variables on the knowledge, attitude and TPI scores were assessed by means of Regression analysis and the correlation between these variables were studied by Pearson coefficient.The mean knowledge scores of the participants were 53.84 of total 100 scores, their mean attitude was 27.2 of total 45 and the mean TPI was 2.36. Reverse significant correlations were found between TPI and knowledge scores (p<0.001) and between knowledge and attitude scores also (p<0.003). Furthermore, mother education level significantly influenced respondent's plaque scores and the school type and mother education showed significant effects on the student's knowledge scores.The students of East Tehran districts showed moderate knowledge and attitudes regarding oral hygiene and together with the increased knowledge, their plaque scores had been reduced. Due to the importance of oral hygiene, it seems that holding oral hygiene instruction programs would lead to increased levelsof knowledge, attitude and behaviors among the students.