Mozaffer Rahim Hingorjo, Farhan Jaleel, Asghar Mehdi.
Oral Health Aspects in Primary School Children of Three Major Cities of Pakistan.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;19(4):211-5.

OBJECTIVE: This cross-sectional study was done to evaluate tooth brushing and oral addictive habits of primary school children (aged 5-10 years) . METHODOLOGY: This was a cross-sectional study, conducted in 2000, across Pakistan in three major cities. Data was collected using simplified WHO Oral Health Assessment Form (1997), with questions regarding oral hygiene practices such as brushing and use of areca nut. The participating dental surgeons were initially trained for data collection using WHO guidelines and then evaluated and calibrated. After satisfactory results from a pilot study, it was extended to three major cities of Pakistan. 7005 students studying in classes 1 to 3 (age 5-10 years) were included in the study. Data was collected from 22 schools of upper socio-economic class (SEC) RESULT: There were 56.77% boys and 43.23% girls in the study group, with an average age of 7.2 years. Almost all the children (99.22%) were brushing their teeth, most (92.96%) using toothpaste. Once, twice, and thrice daily brushing was 37.53%, 54.29%, and 7.45%, respectively, with more boys brushing once and more girls brushing twice daily. Regarding addictive oral habits, 13.38% children were addicted to areca nuts. Family history revealed that 23.38% and 19.41% parents were addicted to quid/pan and smoking, respectively CONCLUSION: Correct tooth brushing technique and frequency, removes dental plaque and prevents dental caries effectively. Parents should start educating their children at a very young age to maintain proper oral hygiene, such as, tooth-brushing and keeping a check on oral addictives. The need of the hour is to promote oral health awareness through parents, teachers, and community based oral health surveys, with media playing an important role in it.

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