Comparative study on knowledge, attitudes and practices on oral health among year eleven Muslim and Sinhala school Children in the city of Colombo.

Abstract

This study was done to assess the knowledge,attitudes and practices on oral and dental health among school children and to determine the source of oral health information.Another purpose of this study was to assess the awareness of the school dental service and whether the services were being utilized by the children.The study area was confined to the city of colombo due to the financial and time constraints; Parents and school teachers were found to be the main source of information with the dental surgeon contributing to a lesser degree and the least contribution made by the school dental therapist.Awareness of the school dental clinic among the school children was not adequate and significant differences between the two froups with muslims being less aware of the school dental clinics were found.The frequency of sugar consumption was found to be high among all school children.Since dental disease are preventable disease,it is very important that preventive services should be enhanced and made active.The need to educate children about the basic aspects of dental health,current efficacious preventive methods and minimise prevalent misinformation about dental health was seen from this study.School dental service utilisation should be brought to a maximum.