Knowledge And Awareness About Oral Health In School Going Children Of Chitwan District Of Nepal

Introduction: The oral health knowledge provided at early stage of life may help children to make healthy choices, adopt a better lifestyle and deal with the oral conditions. This study documented the knowledge and awareness on oral health in 12 year old school going children of Chitwan district of Nepal.  Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study with stratified random sampling conducted with random selection of schools in Chitwan district of Nepal.Pre-validated questionnaires were used to collect information on oral health knowledge in 12 year old school going children in Chitwan district of Nepal.  Results: The results showed high level of knowledge on various aspects of oral health practices and habits ranging from 68% to 93% except for knowledge on the effect of misaligned teeth on oral health (44%). However, there was low level of awareness regarding cause of dental plaque, importance of fluoride, gum bleeding, and causes of dental caries with most of the responses not exceeding more than 45% among the 400 participants of the study.   Conclusions: The knowledge on various aspects of oral health care seems to be very high in school going students of Chitwan district of Nepal. The study highlights the need for better oral health lessons to students in primary school in selected areas of oral health.