Introduction: Oral health is fundamental to general health and well-being. A healthy mouth enables an individual to talk, eat, and&nbsp;socialize without experiencing active disease, discomfort, or embarrassment. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and oral hygiene&nbsp;practices of school children from both Government and Private schools in Mahabubnagar district. Materials and Methods: A total&nbsp;of 150 children aged 11–15 years were randomly selected from six Private and six Government schools. A questionnaire related&nbsp;to their personal and oral hygiene practices was distributed to the school children. Results: The results of this study showed thatmost respondents had a good knowledge of basic hygiene measures and positive attitude towards oral hygiene. The students of both&nbsp;schools exhibited poor oral hygiene practices but were significantly reported more in the Government school than in the Private&nbsp;schools (p&lt;0.005). Majority of the respondents (91.3%) used a commercial toothbrush and toothpaste and half of them (50%)&nbsp;reported brushing twice a day. Two-third of the respondents (75%), had never visited a dental clinic. Conclusion: The results of the&nbsp;present study showed that the knowledge and oral hygiene practices of Government school children were less satisfactory in someaspects when compared to private school children.&nbsp

Daneswari, V.

Niharika, P.

Reddy, Kola. Srikanth

Reddy, M. Ajay

Reddy, N. Venugopal

English

Atharva Scientific Publications (E-Jounals)

Vol 5 | Issue 3 | Mar 2018 Indian J Child Health 196
Original Article
Comparing the personal oral hygiene practices among Government and Private 
school children of Mahabubnagar, Telangana state - A cross sectional study
Kola. Srikanth Reddy, N. Venugopal Reddy, M. Ajay Reddy, P. Niharika, V. Daneswari
Department of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry, Mamata Dental College & Hospital, Telangana, India
Correspondence to: Dr. Kola. Srikanth Reddy, Department of Pedodontics & Preventive Dentistry, Mamata Dental College & Hospital, 
Khammam, Telangana, India. E-mail: kolasrikanthreddy@gmail.com
Received – 31 January 2018 Initial Review – 23 February 2018 Published Online – 18 March 2018
Oral health is an essential aspect of general health and oral health knowledge is considered to be an important prerequisite for health-related practices. In a study, 
Carneiro et al.[1] explained that there is an association between 
increased knowledge and better oral health because people who 
assimilate oral health knowledge most probably have a sense of 
personal control over their oral health, and they are more likely to 
adopt self-care practice.
According to Smyth et al.,[2] there is a strong evidence 
between oral health knowledge and oral health practices. Cheah 
et al.[3] also explained that people with positive attitudes towards 
their oral health are influenced more and they take care of their 
teeth better as compared to other people.
Foundation for the maintenance of personal hygiene is laid 
down in childhood. Personal hygiene is the science of healthy 
living of an individual. The term personal hygiene includes all 
those factors which influence the health and well-being of an 
individual [3]. It is a public health tool that is used for disease 
prevention and health promotion in individuals, families, and 
communities.
This study provides baseline data for future research and 
allows comparisons with children’s oral health attitudes in other 
nations. Examining school children knowledge of dental diseases 
and preventive agents was the focus of this study. Consequently, 
this study was aimed at comparing personal oral hygiene practices 
among school children of Government and Private schools within 
Mahabubnagar district of Telangana state.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among school 
children (aged 11–15 years) of government and private schools 
of Mahabubnagar district of Telangana state to assess their 
knowledge, attitude and practices regarding their oral health 
status and personal hygiene.
Among 35 secondary schools of Mahabubnagar district, 
twelve schools were selected (six private and six government) 
using convenience sampling technique. Six public and six private 
schools were selected to ensure socio-economic balance in the 
study population and to reduce research cost. Out of twelve, two 
schools (one private and one government) were randomly selected. 
Three classes were selected from each year from each school, and 
an average of 23 students participated from each class. A total of 
150 school children, who were willing to participate and whose 
parents gave consent included in the study. Students who were not 
willing to participate or were absent on the day of the study were 
excluded from the study.
The Sample size was calculated to be 150 students using 
the formula n=Z2pq/d2 [4] where: n = the desired sample size, 
z = the standard normal deviate, set at 1.96 (corresponding 
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Oral health is fundamental to general health and well-being. A healthy mouth enables an individual to talk, eat, and 
socialize without experiencing active disease, discomfort, or embarrassment. Objectives: To assess the knowledge and oral hygiene 
practices of school children from both Government and Private schools in Mahabubnagar district. Materials and Methods: A total 
of 150 children aged 11–15 years were randomly selected from six Private and six Government schools. A questionnaire related 
to their personal and oral hygiene practices was distributed to the school children. Results: The results of this study showed that 
most respondents had a good knowledge of basic hygiene measures and positive attitude towards oral hygiene. The students of both 
schools exhibited poor oral hygiene practices but were significantly reported more in the Government school than in the Private 
schools (p<0.005). Majority of the respondents (91.3%) used a commercial toothbrush and toothpaste and half of them (50%) 
reported brushing twice a day. Two-third of the respondents (75%), had never visited a dental clinic. Conclusion: The results of the 
present study showed that the knowledge and oral hygiene practices of Government school children were less satisfactory in some 
aspects when compared to private school children.
Key words: Knowledge, Oral health, Practice, School children
Reddy et al. Personal oral hygiene practices in school children of Mahabubnagar
Vol 5 | Issue 3 | Mar 2018 Indian J Child Health 197
to 95% confidence level), p = the proportion in the target 
population estimated to have a particular characteristic, taken as 
50% (i.e. 0.50), q=1.0–p, d = degree of accuracy desired, set at 
0.05 (5%).
The study protocol was reviewed by the Ethical Committee 
of Institutional Review Board and was granted ethical clearance. 
An official permission was obtained from the District Education 
Officer, District Education Office (primary and middle; secondary) 
of Mahabubnagar district. Written consent was obtained from the 
school authorities and parents of all the study participants.
The first part of proforma consisted of the self-administered 
structured questionnaire comprising of demographic questions 
like name, age, sex, school name, mother literacy, and father 
literacy. There were 22 close-ended multiple-choice specific 
research questions which were divided into three categories: 
Knowledge (11 Questions), attitude (3 Questions), and practices 
(8 Questions).
The questionnaires were distributed to all the students and were 
collected back after 15 min. The instrument was administered 
with the help of three dentists working at the S.V.S Institute of 
Dental Sciences, Mahabubnagar.
Oral epidemiological data was collected by clinical 
examinations in various schools. The Decay Missing and Filled 
Teeth index (DMFT Index-WHO, 1987) and the Periodontal 
disease index (Ramfjord, 1967) were used to determine the 
prevalence of dental caries and Periodontal disease among 
the participants. All examiners were trained and calibrated 
accordingly (WHO standards) before the start of the study.
Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 18. Chi-
square test was used for making comparisons. p<0.005 was 
considered as statistically significant.
RESULTS
In the present study, 150 school children were given the 
Questionnaire; the data was then analyzed and has been tabulated 
for each Question. Among 150 children, 48.6% were males and 
51.4% were females; 48.6% children from Government schools 
and 51.4% children from private schools. Among total children, 
only 59.3% have an educated mother and 66% have an educated 
father (Table 1).
When asked about their hair-washing habits, the results 
showed that the majority of children (82%) would wash once in 
a week. Majority of the students (88%) would take bath twice a 
day, and remaining (9.33%) once in a day. When asked about the 
material used for bathing, majority of them (75.33%) responded 
that they were using soap whereas the rest (14%) had used water 
only. Most children (91.33%) answered about using a toothbrush 
for cleaning their teeth, 4% of them for twigs, and rest of the 
3.33% for other materials. When we asked about using dentifrices 
for cleaning their teeth, 82% of them answered that they had used 
toothpaste, 10.67% answered for using tooth powder, while 7.33% 
answered for other materials for cleaning their teeth (Table 2).
A Comparison was done among Government and Private 
school children regarding knowledge, attitude, and practices 
(KAP) of oral hygiene, the frequency of hair wash, frequency 
of taking bath, the material used for cleaning the teeth, washing 
hands, time at which they brush, the meaning of personal hygiene. 
There was a statistical difference between Government and 
Private School children (p<0.005) (Table 3).
DISCUSSION
In India, data on oral health and personal behavior of children 
are not available; henceforth, the present study was conducted to 
provide information about oral health knowledge, their practices 
with regard to children aged 11–15 years. Schools provide a 
platform for the promotion of health and oral health not only 
for the students but also for the staff, families, and members of 
Table 1: Distribution of children by types of school, gender, 
parents, educational status
Variables Study population (%)
Schools
Goverment 73 (48.67)
Private 77 (51.33)
Gender
Male 73 (48.67)
Females 77 (51.33)
Mother educational status
Educated 89 (59.33)
Un eduacted 61 (41.67)
Father educational status
Educated 99 (66)
Un educated 51 (34)
Table 2: Response of students regarding personal oral hygiene 
practices
Items Number of children (%)
How frequent do you take head bath
Every day 27 (18)
Once in a week 123 (82)
Once in a month 0 (0)
Occasionally 0 (0)
How many times do you take bath
Once in a day 14 (9.33)
Twice in a day 132 (88.00)
Not daily 4 (2.67)
Occasionally 0 (0.00)
What do you use for bathing
Soap 113 (75.33)
Water only 21 (14)
Others 16 (10.67)
Materials used for cleaning your teeth
Tooth paste 123 (82)
Tooth powder 16 (10.67)
Neem stick 8 (5.33)
Others 3 (2.00)
Reddy et al. Personal oral hygiene practices in school children of Mahabubnagar
Vol 5 | Issue 3 | Mar 2018 Indian J Child Health 198
the community as a whole [5]. A total of 150 subjects belonging 
to both Private and Government schools were included in the 
present study.
It was found that the number of female participants was 
comparatively higher as compared to male participants in both 
the age groups. The use of a toothbrush is the most important 
measure for maintaining oral hygiene [5] and poor dental hygiene 
can result in tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, tooth loss, bad 
breath (Halitosis), fungal infection, and gum diseases. Although 
more than 79.33% of the study participants used to brush their 
teeth once a day, very few participants were brushing their teeth 
twice daily (20.67%), which is less as compared to results of 
some other study conducted by Zaborskyte and Bendoraitiene 
on school children in Lithuania[6] This may be due to the lack 
of awareness regarding importance of brushing at night, peer-
influence or lack of parental and professional education[7] 
However, number of participants using tree-stick for cleaning 
their teeth were much higher (59%) in another study conducted 
by Okemwa as compared to the present study [8].
When asked about the educational level of their parents, it was 
found that mother’s literacy rate was lower than fathers (59% and 
66%, respectively). Cheah et al. [3] conducted a similar study 
among secondary school students in Kuching, Sarawak. Although 
the students had a positive attitude toward dental services, 
dental attendance was low, mostly due to a fear of needles and 
hand-pieces, their knowledge about oral diseases was poor 
and only 43.5% of the students had a high level of Oral health 
awareness.
Humagain [9] performed a descriptive cross-sectional study 
evaluating the KAP about oral health among secondary school level 
students of rural Nepal. The result showed that only 35.1% of the 
study participants actually had knowledge of oral hygiene and only 
20% reported that they were regular dental attendees for checkups.
Mehta and Kaur [10] assessed the oral health-related knowledge 
and practices among 12-year-old school children studying in rural 
areas of Panchkula, India. A low level of knowledge and practices 
was observed as only 25% of the participants cleaned their mouth 
more than once a day; 45.5% of the children had some problem 
with their teeth and/or gums, and only 35.9% visited the dentist 
for treatment.
The practice of use of toothpaste is now common in the 
community; however, only 4% of the students knew about the use 
of fluoride consisting toothpaste which is helpful in protecting 
the tooth against decay. The study conducted by Reddy et al. [11] 
also reported that 92% of the population in their study was not 
aware of requirement of fluoride in the toothpaste. It is observed 
from this study that most of the children in school-going age do 
not have comprehensive knowledge of oral hygiene. Another 
study by Priya [12] also reported the overall knowledge to be low 
among school children.
Table 3: Comparative table of Private and Government school children.
Items Options Government (%) Private (%) Total (%) Chi-square p
Frequency of head bath Every day 30 6.4 18 14.19 0.002
Once a week 69.86 93.5 82
Frequency of taking bath Once daily 17.81 1.3 9.33 17.22 0.002
Twice daily 76.71 98.7 88
Materials used for cleaning teeth Twig 8 0 4 15.01 0.0018
Toothbrush 82 100 91.3
Water only 2.74 0 1.33
Others 6.85 0 3.33
Materials used to clean Teeth Toothpaste 65.75 97.40 82 25.83 0.001
Tooth powder 19.18 2.6 10.67
Salt 10.96 0 5.33
Others 4.11 0 2
When do you wash hands Before meals 8.22 28.57 18.67 22.02 0.0002
After meals 8.22 16.8 12.67
After defecation 12.33 0 6
After playing 65.75 51.95 58.67
All 5.48 2.6 4
Time at which they brush Early morning 64.38 83.1 74 30.49 0.0001
Before bed 31.51 2.6 16.67
Above both 1.37 14.29 8
After every meal 2.74 0 1.33
Meaning of personnel hygiene Keep yourself clean 21.9 48 35.3 19.52 0.0002
Keep surrounding clean 13.7 0 6.67
Both 60.27 50.6 53.3
None 4.11 1.30 2.67
Reddy et al. Personal oral hygiene practices in school children of Mahabubnagar
Vol 5 | Issue 3 | Mar 2018 Indian J Child Health 199
The practices of oral hygiene among the students was 
significantly sound as most of them (79.33%) had brushed their 
teeth once a day, with toothpaste and fluoridated toothpaste, 
and rinsed their mouth with water once in a day after each 
meal, but only a few students (20.62%) were brushing their 
teeth twice a day. These practices were also in agreement 
with the findings of other studies conducted by Priya [12] and 
Kuppuswamy et al. [13] They reported that less percentage of 
children (38.33% and 17% respectively) were actually brushing 
their teeth twice a day.
There were few limitations of our study. First of all, our study 
was a cross-sectional study with relatively small sample size and 
hence, it was difficult to generalize the findings of the study. 
So, further study on the same topic is proposed with the larger 
number of study subjects. Since it was a questionnaire study, 
respondents may read in a different way for each question and 
subsequently reply will be based on their own interpretation of 
the question, reflecting the inherent limitations of such studies. 
There was a possibility that some of the students might have 
altered their behavior during the study period (e.g., increased 
brushing frequency). To minimize this, the investigator 
highlighted the anonymity of the participants before distribution 
of the Questionnaire, and participants were advised to fill the 
Questionnaire as independently as possible
CONCLUSION
In the present study, it was showed that secondary school children 
who were studying in Government schools have poor knowledge 
and personal oral hygiene practices as compared to private 
schools children. We recommend that the public health dentistry 
department of each dental college should carry out an integrated 
oral health promotion program through schools which should 
include periodic oral health screening and some preventive 
programs such as fluoride mouth rinse, cleaning of teeth, health 
education of school students and creating awareness regarding 
oral health maintenance.
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Funding: None; Conflict of Interest: None Stated.
How to cite this article: Eddy KS, Reddy NV, Reddy MA, Niharika P, 
Daneswari V. Comparing the personal oral hygiene practices among 
Government and Private school children of Mahabubnagar, Telangana 
state - A cross sectional study. Indian J Child Health. 2018; 5(3):196-199.


Comparing the personal oral hygiene practices among Government and Private school children of Mahabubnagar, Telangana state - A cross sectional study

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Comparing the personal oral hygiene practices among Government and Private school children of Mahabubnagar, Telangana state - A cross sectional study

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