ORAL HYGIENE

Introduction: Oral hygiene is a Oral health is essential for total Overall health and satisfactory quality of life. According to the World Health Organization . Oral health has been defined as a state of being free of mouth and facial pain, oral infections and sores, and oral and other diseases that limit an individuals capacity in biting, chewing, smiling, speaking, and psychosocial well-being. Oral conditions like dental caries and periodontal or gum disease continue to plague humanity. The adverse effects of inadequate care for teeth, gums, bite, and jaws can move beyond the mouth to affect overall physical and psychological health. Objectives: To assess the knowledge of Middle school children regarding oral hygiene in the selected school of Shankarpur Dehradun..To determine the association between the level of knowledge among middle school children regarding oral hygiene and their selected socio -demographic variables. Method: The research approach present in the study is quantitative research approach aims to assess the knowledge of oral hygiene among middle school age children in selected school of shankarpur Dehradun. In this research study descriptive research design is used to assess the knowledge regarding oral hygiene among middle school aged children , in the S.G.R.R school Sehaspur, Dehradun .This research design is descriptive type of research design. The setting selected for present study is children of 6 to 12 years old in Shree Guru Ram Rai public school at Shankarpur Dehradun.Self structured questionnaire method are used for the data collection. Result: In middle school age students having 65% average knowledge and 34% good knowledge while 1% having poor knowledge . Majority of the students i.e 58.6% brushed once in a day. This was parallel to studies where students brushed twice a day. Conclusion : In our study it is evident that 11-12th years age group i.e 70 % student having more knowledge rather than other age group , the economic status having no corelation with knowledge regarding oral hygiene among students , in comparison middle class students having 80% knowledge . The following conclusion can be drawn from the study findings, which are supported by evidence from the other literature. The school age children are having adequate mean Knowledge score was 16.38 and mean Practice score was 15 regarding oral hygiene. The self administered Structured Interview Schedule Questionnaire has shown significant association between socio demographical variables and their knowledge.