The perspectives of teachers on barriers to optimum oral health: a qualitative study

Poor oral health exists among the Nigerian populace and may be associated with different barriers. Although efforts have been made to institute effective oral health promotion activities among children and adolescents in schools. It remains unclear, from teachers’ perspectives, which barriers to good oral health should be considered when planning such programmes. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of school teachers in Ibadan, Nigeria about barriers to good oral health in general. This was an exploratory qualitative study conducted among secondary school teachers in Ibadan. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 105 teachers in eight secondary schools in Ibadan through focus group discussions. The discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed. The ages of the teachers ranged between 35-50 years with about 57.1% of them being females. Individual and community/external barriers were highlighted, and the themes generated included placement of oral health low on priority scale, lack of knowledge about oral health, access to professional dental care services, financial constraint, laziness, and time factor. In the population studied, insight was gained into the perspectives of teachers about the barriers to optimum oral health.