A Study on the Oral Health Awareness and Behavior in the Higher Grades of Elementary School

초등학교 고학년 학생의 구강보건에 관한 인식 및 행동

The purpose of this study was to collect basic data for the development of effective oral health education program in elementary school. The subjects in this study Were 604 fourth-year, fifth-year and sixth-year students of an elementary school in Seoul, Oral health awareness and behaviors were surveyed and analyzed. The findings of this study were as follows: 1. The most common time for toothbrushing was after dinner(62.0%) and before bedtime(62.3%). By school year, the largest number who brushed their teeth after dinner were fourth and fifth graders while the greatest number who did so after breakfast were sixth graders. Seventy-four percent of respondents brushed the teeth twice or more a day. By school year, the fifth-year students brushed their teeth the least while girls outperformed the boys in daily toothbrushing frequency(p<0.05). Regarding the intake of cariogenic food, 62.1% took that kind of food once or more a day. By school year, the fifth graders took the most (p<0.05), and girls took more cariogenic food than the boys(p<0.05). 2. Ninety percent of the respondents had visited a dental clinic. By grade, the sixth-year students had visited a dental clinic more frequently and girls more frequently than boys. Eighty percent of the respondents visited a dental clinic to receive treatment but just 12.3% visited a dental clinic to prevent oral diseases. Concerning the fear of dental treatment, only 14.4% expressed fear. School year made no difference, yet the percentage of girls who experienced fear was higher than that of boys(p<0.05). Regarding preventive treatment, 39.7% experienced pit and fissure sealing and 24.2% experienced the application of fluorides. All the students hadn't much experience in preventive treatment regardless of school year -- gender didn't make a difference. 3. Fourty-six percent of respondents had a preference for the fluoride mouth rinsing program; 38.4% wanted that program to continue. As to the reason for preference, 38.2% preferred it because of the prevention of dental caries, 43.0%, the largest percentage, didn't favor it because they found it too much trouble to do(some of the respondents gave two different answers). 4. Despite an increase in the frequency of toothbrushing at the right time, they still took cariogenic food frequently. Their visit to a dental clinics also aimed at treatment more than at prevention, and they had very narrow experience of preventive treatment Furthermore, the fluoride mouth rinsing program failed to draw their interest Therefore, it is recommended that a successful oral health education program should be developed.