Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon

Year 2019, Volume: 53 Issue: 1, 12 - 20, 31.01.2019

Ezgi Baltacı Özgül Baygın , Tamer Tüzmen Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz

Abstract

Purpose

Educators can also contribute to the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC)

by educating children about oral diseases and hygiene practices. The aim of this

study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of pre-school teachers

concerning oral and dental health in Trabzon.

Subjects and methods

The study was carried out with 226 pre-school teachers in the city center using

a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and

behaviors concerning the oral and dental health of children.

Results

Only 29.8% of the respondents had a prior dental education. Although 83% of the

teachers said that regular visits to the dentist were effective for caries prevention,

only 13.2% said that they made regular visits to a dentist. Approximately 65.8%

of the teachers agreed that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and 35.1% of the

teachers said that there were oral health activities in their schools. Additionally,

74.6% of teachers said that they would participate in dental education about

children’s oral health in the future.

Conclusion

Preventive dental health program could be implemented including the proper

behaviors related to the importance and treatability of primary teeth, first tooth

cleaning, dental visits, the use of fluoride toothpaste, and oral hygiene into the preschool

teachers’ undergraduate education programs in the future. This program

should be repeated at certain intervals for the prevention of ECC.

Keywords

Dental education, oral health, preschool, early childhood caries, teacher

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