Oral hygiene awareness among female Saudi school children.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the oral hygiene habits and utilization of professional dental health services by all the children in the primary schools, and to compare the differences in oral hygiene awareness (OHA) and dental health status of schoolchildren who are exposed to dental health education and those who are not.
METHODS: Participants included 400 Saudi children, randomly selected from the primary female schools in Al-Kharj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on April 2007. Two hundreds children (age 9-11) from the 25 schools, who were exposed to the dental health education program on April 2006, were randomly selected as the study group. Two hundred children (age 9-11) from the schools, which were not exposed to such program were also randomly selected as the control group. The required information about oral hygiene awareness was collected through an especially designed questionnaire.
RESULTS: Tooth brushing for 2 times a day or after meals were more common among schoolchildren of study group, than schoolchildren of control group. A significant difference (p=0.00) was observed between study group and control group, with regard to never brush their teeth. There was no significant difference between study group and control group with respect to using dental floss, using mouthwash, and in relation to never visiting a dentist for check up. The main reason cited by study group, and by control group for visiting the dentist was that they had severe toothache. Both groups presently consume more sweetened soft drinks. A significant (p=0.00) higher frequency of good dental status was observed in the study group, as compared with that of the control group.
CONCLUSION: The school which applied this program, showed improved OHA of children as compared with the control group. Systematic school-based oral health promotion programs are urgently needed in the Kingdom to target lifestyles and health needs of children.