ISSN 0975-8437 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL CLINICS 2011:3(4):16-19 ©INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL CLINICS VOLUME 3 ISSUE 4 2011 16 Oral Health Awareness and Attitude among 12-13 Year Old School Children in Udaipur, India Archana J. Sharda , Srinath Shetty , Dr. Ramesh N , Jagat Sharda , Nagesh Bhat, Kailash Asawa Abstract Background: Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the Oral health awareness (Knowledge) and Attitude among 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur City, India. Material and methods: In a cross- sectional study, a total of 514 children of 12-13 years old (306 (59.5%) Boys and 208 (40.5%) Girls) were surveyed using a self-administered, structured questionnaire written in English and pretested through a pilot survey to assess the oral health awareness and attitude. Descriptive statistics using frequency distribution, mean percentage scores and standard deviation were calculated. The Student’s t-test was used to assess the differences in mean scores by age and gender and chi-squared test was used as a test of significance for the proportions. Results: The mean percentage knowledge and Attitude scores were 46.826±14.361 and 81.08±23.063 respectively for all the children. There was no statistically significant difference for the mean percentage knowledge and attitude scores by age and gender. Conclusion: These results indicate a positive attitude but a low level of oral health awareness among 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur, India. The present study showed the need for the oral health education of the school children aiming at improving oral health knowledge and continuous implementation of school oral health promotion programs. Key Words: oral health awareness; knowledge; attitude; school children Introduction Oral health is now recognized as equally important in relation to general health. Oral disease is one of the most costly diet- and lifestyle-related diseases.(1, 2) Oral disease can lead to pain and tooth loss, a condition that affects the appearance, quality of life, nutritional intake and consequently, the growth and development of children. The burden of oral disease is considerable. Tooth decay and gum disease are among the most widespread conditions in human populations, affecting over 80% of schoolchildren in some countries.(3-5) Many oral health problems are preventable and their early onset reversible. The traditional behavior change model states that imparting knowledge will enhance the attitude and health related behavior. But the precise nature of relationship between oral health awareness (knowledge), health related attitudes and behavior is complex. It it shown that people who have assimilated the knowledge and feel a sense of personal control over their oral health are more likely to adopt self-care behavior.(6) Also the oral health concern of an individual is dependent on the attitude of a person.(7) Given that many risk behaviors stem from the school-age years, schools have powerful influences on children's development and well- being.(8-10) However, in several countries a considerable number of children, their parents and teachers have limited knowledge of the causes and prevention of oral disease.(11-14) Children can be provided with knowledge that enables them to make healthy choices, to adopt a healthy lifestyle and to deal with conflicts. Children are the ideal target group for an early intervention because healthy behaviours and lifestyles developed at a young age are more sustainable. So the present study, which is a part of a school based project to evaluate the effectiveness of oral health promotion programme, was aimed to assess the oral health awareness and attitude of 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur, India. Materials and Methods Subjects: In an epidemiological cross- sectional survey, 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur, India were examined to assess the dental caries prevalence. A simple random sampling was done to select three schools for the purpose of the study and the duration of study was three months. Ethical Approval and Official Permission: Before starting the survey ethical approval was obtained from the ethical committee of PAHER University, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India and official permission was obtained from the authorities (Principal/Director) of the schools included in the study. Survey form: A survey form was prepared with help of a self-administered structured questionnaire written in English and validated through a pilot survey including 20 multiple choice questions to evaluate the oral health awareness (knowledge) and attitude of the 12-13 year old school children. The survey forma was divided into three sections as follows: 1) Demographic information: About Name, Age, Sex, Name and area of school and Year of study of the participants. 2) Oral health knowledge: The assessment of participant’s oral health knowledge included 16 questions (as per the order K1-K16) on the number ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE