Oral health education in public schools of Rawalpindi city

Abstract

Introduction: Oral diseases can have a negative impact on the functional, social and psychological well being of children and are a result of inappropriate oral health behaviors. Oral health behaviors develop at an early stage. As at this stage, children and adolescents are receptive to new information and healthy oral habits can be established which will have a positive impact on oral health. The objective of this study was to assess the oral health education implementation in Public Schools of Rawalpindi City.

Material and Method: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Simple random sampling technique was used and 12 schools were selected by lottery method. From these schools, teachers were selected by non-probability convenience sampling. A closed ended questionnaire was given to the respondents along with group discussions. SPSS version 19 was used to assess the results.

Results: Public primary school teachers have very little dental knowledge but 100% of them agreed with the importance of oral health and the idea that oral diseases are preventable. They lacked contribution from the school authorities for any action in this respect. All of the respondents emphasized about the inclusion of oral health in their curriculum which would be feasible for them to carry out practically.

Conclusions: Public schools are an underutilized resource for health education. They can provide a supportive environment for promoting oral health.