Narendar Dawani, Nighat Nisar, Nazeer Khan, Shahbano Syed, Navara Tanweer.
Oral Health Knowledge, Attitude and Self-practices of Pre-school Teachers of Karachi, Pakistan.
J Pak Dent Assoc Jan ;22(1):41-51.

OBJECTIVE: Globally, schools serve as a valuable platform for oral health promotion and preschool teachers can prove to be beneficial in disseminating oral health education among children as during this period children are most prone to dental caries. The study objective was to evaluate the oral health knowledge, attitude and self practices of the preschool teachers. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 112 pre-school teachers in Saddar town, Karachi. Two-stage cluster sampling was used to select the sample and the selected teachers were requested to fill the study questionnaire. Descriptive frequencies and One-way ANOVA was utilized for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Response rate was 86%. Seventy-seven percent schoolteachers had knowledge about dental caries and 71% knew that it is of bacterial origin. More than 55% schoolteachers correctly identified the risk factors commonly related to dental caries. Education level of teachers was significantly associated with their knowledge regarding dental caries. Ninety-nine percent used toothbrush and toothpaste for maintaining oral hygiene whereas only 16% visited a dentist routinely. CONCLUSION: Pre-school teachers possess satisfactory knowledge regarding dental caries and are actively involved in disseminating oral health education. However, they have poor understanding about importance of regular dental visits.

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