강원도 일부 초등학생의 자가구강건강인식과 구강건강상태의 관련성

Association between Perceived Oral Health and Oral Health Status of Elementary School Students in Gangwon Province, South Korea

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationship between perceived oral health and oral health status, oral health symptoms in elementary school students. Methods: Oral examination and oral hygiene survey were performed on 446 students in 5th grade from 4 elementary schools in Wonju, Gangwon province. Oral examination assessed decayed teeth, filled teeth, missing teeth from decay. Then, oral hygiene status was evaluated by O'Leary index and self-reported questionnaires were surveyed. We analysed the collected data using SPSS program ver. 20.0, significant difference level was p<0.05. Results: 38.4% of the subjects rated their oral health as poor, 61.6% as good, female students was worried about their appearances than male students. Their decayed teeth was 1.01, missed teeth was 0.01, filled teeth was 1.75, O'Leary index was 64.49, oral hygiene status of them was poor. Perceived oral health was associated to decayed teeth, DMFT, oral health symptoms except tooth fracture and pain of mucosa (p<0.05). However, there is no correlation between perceived oral health and oral hygiene status (p>0.05) Conclusion: Self-rated oral health status of the elementary school students was related to decayed teeth and oral health symptoms, but it was not related to oral hygiene status. Therefore it was needed to improve the oral hygiene status in elementary students by devise effective way to motivate them.