Jornal de Pesquisa Clínica

Awareness and Knowledge of Oral Health among Schoolchildren Aged 12 to 18 Years in Ndola, Zambia

Abstract

Peace Uwizeye

Oral diseases are considered a major public health problem as a consequence of the high prevalence and incidence observed in all regions of the world, and dental caries is reported to be the most common childhood disease and NCD worldwide. Awareness and knowledge are one of the major tools for improving health and must therefore be assessed. The objectives of this study were to determine awareness and knowledge of oral health and the dental caries experience among school children aged 12 to 18 in Ndola. Simple random sampling from four schools chosen by convenient sampling was used to select the study participants. A total of 384 participants were issued consent forms. The study was conducted at Kansenshi High School, Dominican Convent Secondary School, Masala Secondary School and Kaniki Basic School in Ndola, Zambia. It was a school-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in September 2021. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire, and an oral examination using the DMFT index was carried out. Data was entered and analyzed using the IBM SPSS statistics software. Majority of the participants exhibited good awareness and knowledge towards oral health, and had healthy teeth. However, there was no significant association between level of knowledge and awareness and dental caries experience.