Knowledge, attitude and practice on oral hygiene measures among adolescents in semi-urban areas

Aim: To assess the knowledge oral hygiene practice among adolescents residing in semi urban areas.
Background: Oral hygiene knowledge contributes to good oral health, but unless attitudes and habits are developed and put into practice, little will be gained.It is important to review the knowledge, attitude, and practices of the oral health of adolescents, even though they are educated, with the objectives of inculcating healthy life style practices to last for a lifetime. Individuals who hold favorable oral health related beliefs over time have better oral health in their later years than those who do not. This implies that changing beliefs should result in changes in behaviors.
Methodology: A descriptive cross sectional survey was conducted in the self administered questionnaire that assessed the knowledge, attitude and practice on oral hygiene measures among 100 adolescents residing in semi urban areas of Chennai. The results weren't analysed by descriptive statistics method.
Results: Most of the students residing in semi- urban areas have knowledge about cleaning their teeth and tongues except the knowledge about interdental aids and in the use of mouthwash. And most of them cleaned their teeth using tooth brush and tooth paste.
Conclusion: The toothbrush with toothpaste is the most common oral hygiene aid used for cleaning teeth, it was observed that a greater number of students brushed their teeth twice daily.