Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India

Background. School teachers have an internationally recognized potential role in school-based dental education and considerable importance has therefore been attributed to their dental knowledge. The objectives of this study were to determine the oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and approac...

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Main Authors: Ankita Mota, Kunal C. Oswal, Dipti A. Sajnani, Anand K. Sajnani
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-01-01
Series:Scientifica
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5967427
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author Ankita Mota
Kunal C. Oswal
Dipti A. Sajnani
Anand K. Sajnani
author_facet Ankita Mota
Kunal C. Oswal
Dipti A. Sajnani
Anand K. Sajnani
author_sort Ankita Mota
collection DOAJ
description Background. School teachers have an internationally recognized potential role in school-based dental education and considerable importance has therefore been attributed to their dental knowledge. The objectives of this study were to determine the oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and approaches of pre-primary and primary school teachers in the city of Mumbai. Methods. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the suburban regions of Mumbai using a self-administered questionnaire and involved 511 teachers. Results. Teachers demonstrated inappropriate or incomplete knowledge regarding children’s oral health. Only 53.2% knew that an individual has two sets of dentition. Moreover, only 45.4% of the teachers knew that a primary dentition consists of 20 teeth. Only 56.9% of the teachers asked their children to clean their mouth after snacking during school hours. 45.0% of the teachers were unaware of fluoridated tooth pastes whilst 78.9% of them were unaware of school water fluoridation programmes. Also, 54.8% of the teachers never discussed the oral health of children with their parents during parents meet. Conclusions. The studied school teachers demonstrated incomplete oral health knowledge, inappropriate oral practices, and unfavourable approaches to children’s oral health. There is a definite and immediate need for organized training of school teachers on basic oral health knowledge.
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spelling doaj-art-baf5b42ec4f44b8895932071b50ff3a62025-08-20T02:18:42ZengWileyScientifica2090-908X2016-01-01201610.1155/2016/59674275967427Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, IndiaAnkita Mota0Kunal C. Oswal1Dipti A. Sajnani2Anand K. Sajnani3Mota’s Multispeciality Dental Clinic, Shop No. 4, Batatawala Mansion Near Ganesh Galli, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Road, Lalbaug, Mumbai 400012, IndiaTerna Dental College, Plot No. 12, Sector 22, Opposite Nerul Railway Station, Nerul West, Navi, Mumbai 400706, IndiaZircon Dental Centre, Villa No. 36, Opposite Wakra Hospital Gate No. 4, P.O. Box., 1941, Wakra, QatarKIMS Qatar Medical Centre, Abdulrahman Bin Jassim Al Thani Street, P.O. Box. 82125, Wakra, QatarBackground. School teachers have an internationally recognized potential role in school-based dental education and considerable importance has therefore been attributed to their dental knowledge. The objectives of this study were to determine the oral health related knowledge, attitudes, and approaches of pre-primary and primary school teachers in the city of Mumbai. Methods. The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in the suburban regions of Mumbai using a self-administered questionnaire and involved 511 teachers. Results. Teachers demonstrated inappropriate or incomplete knowledge regarding children’s oral health. Only 53.2% knew that an individual has two sets of dentition. Moreover, only 45.4% of the teachers knew that a primary dentition consists of 20 teeth. Only 56.9% of the teachers asked their children to clean their mouth after snacking during school hours. 45.0% of the teachers were unaware of fluoridated tooth pastes whilst 78.9% of them were unaware of school water fluoridation programmes. Also, 54.8% of the teachers never discussed the oral health of children with their parents during parents meet. Conclusions. The studied school teachers demonstrated incomplete oral health knowledge, inappropriate oral practices, and unfavourable approaches to children’s oral health. There is a definite and immediate need for organized training of school teachers on basic oral health knowledge.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5967427
spellingShingle Ankita Mota
Kunal C. Oswal
Dipti A. Sajnani
Anand K. Sajnani
Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
Scientifica
title Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
title_full Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
title_fullStr Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
title_full_unstemmed Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
title_short Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude, and Approaches of Pre-Primary and Primary School Teachers in Mumbai, India
title_sort oral health knowledge attitude and approaches of pre primary and primary school teachers in mumbai india
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5967427
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