ORAL HEALTH PRACTICES OF FIRST GRADE LYCÉE STUDENTS: A SAMPLE FROM TURKEY

Abstract

There are few studies related to the oral health practices of first grade lycée students (14-year-olds) in Turkey.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the oral health practices of first grade lycée students from a predominantly middle to lower socio- economic district of Ankara.

Methods: The oral health practices of 14-years-olds from nine lycées were investigated along with their general health status and that of their parents and teachers. Ethics approval was obtained from Non- Interventional Clinical Researches Ethics Board of Hacettepe University. Permission for the study was obtained from the Educational Directorate of the province. Parental informed consent was also obtained. Participation was voluntary. All 1,667 students who were 14-years-old, their parents and 424 teachers were invited to take part. Data were collected from students via a structured, pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire, and analyzed by using SPSS 21.0. The relation between variables were evaluated by Chisquare test and a p value <0.05 set for statistical significance.

Results: For various reasons 1,177 (70.6%) participated the study. Of the participants, 647 (55.0%) were male (mean age 14,29±0,5 years). Only 262 (24.2%) of mothers had lycée or a higher education and 220 (20.4%) were currently working; these figures for fathers were 465 (43.7%) and 897 (92.6%) respectively. Of the responding families, 534 (48.8%) reported that they had a moderate socio-economic status. Five hundred (98.4%) female students and 567 (94.7%) male students reported that they had their own toothbrush (p=0.001). For frequency of tooth brushing, 32 (3%) said they never brushed their teeth and 486 (45.2%) at least twice a day. Almost all of the students who were brushing their teeth were using tooth paste and most of them said they renewed their tooth brush every six months or more frequently. There was no significant difference between genders with regard to never visiting a dentist, which was the answer from 242 (20.6%) of students. However, only 366 (43.8%) provided details of their last dental visit. Among these students, the most frequent cause for last visit was pain 115 (31.4%), and half of them had their last dental visit less than one year previously. Almost all of those who responded to this question 327 (90.2%) stated they visited the dentist whenever they had an oral complaint.

Conclusions: The frequency of dental visits and tooth brushing at least twice a day were worse than those reported in developed countries. To improve this situation, schools offer a good location to provide oral health education. The training related to oral health should begin from preschool age and should continue to the end of secondary education. Parental participation as well as that of dental professionals would increase the awareness of this issue.