A Study of Oral Health Fact of High School Students in Certain District

일부지역 고등학생의 구강건강실태에 관한 조사연구

Objectives: This study was designed to understand the oral health fact of high school students, search for an education method and learning goal appropriate for the subjects, and utilize them as basic data to think of effective solutions for oral health care. Methods: The samples to achieve the purpose of this research are composed of 386 students in J industrial high school, OO city, Kyounggido, the number of male students 286, and female students 100. Data were statistically analyzed by frequency analysis, cross tabulation by using SPSS WIN Ver. 12.0. Results: First, The answers in terms of oral symptoms were in the order of 31.8% for gum hurt and bleeding, 31.4% for pain in teeth by drinking or eating hot and cold drinks or food, 27.1% for broken or cracked teeth, 25.7% for aching and throbbing teeth, 20.6% for unpleasant mouth smell, and 5.7% for pain of tongue and soft oral tissues. Second, In terms of behavior for oral health, 88.4% answered that they consume cariogenic snacks, while 29.2% of them, 2.5% of male and 6.3% of female enjoy consuming them but hardly brush their teeth after consumption. Third, In terms of timing for brushing teeth, the results show that 50.0% do so before breakfast, 47.9% after breakfast, 15.2% after lunch, 36.9% after dinner, 65.5% before going to sleep, and 3.5% after consuming snacks, whereas 64.2% answered that they are not aware of fluorine mouthwash. Fourth, In terms of oral health condition. proportion of children with one or more caries in permanent teeth was 71.0%, while 51.4% have $2{\sim}3$ cariogenic teeth, and 16.8% have more than 4 cariogenic teeth. Considering sex, female students have somewhat higher ratio showing 68.5% for male and 78.0% for female, but the ratio was 53.1% for male and 46.7% for female in case of $2{\sim}3$ cariogenic teeth, and 17.5% for male and 15.8% for female in case of more than 4 cariogenic teeth. 9.3% of students turned out to have decayed teeth. Fifth, In terms of oral hygiene condition, only 7.9% of them had excellent condition, and 38.4% need to improve. More specifically, 41.1% of male students and 30.6% of female students need to improve their oral hygiene condition. Conclusions: The study results suggest that School Dental health programs increase and need to be community-incorporated and comprehensive from elementary to high school.