A study on oral hygiene among students of a secondary school in Harinavi, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal

Context: It is needless to state that health and hygiene go hand in hand and of the various categories of hygiene, oral hygiene has a colossal contribution to positive health for any individual. Zealous and correct lifestyle characteristics are related to high standards of oral hygiene, and good habits must be inculcated in the early years of one's life. With this background, a study was conducted among some school-going adolescents. Aims: The aim of this study is to find out the status of their oral hygiene and oral health along with their associated risk factors. Methodology: It was a school-based, observational, cross-sectional study conducted among students of standard 7th, 8th, and 9th of the school who were approached, and the parents of 151 students gave their consent for the oral checkup. Students first filled in a self-administered questionnaire following which their oral health and hygiene were examined. Data were analyzed using statistical package of social science software version 16.0 (IBM, SPSS Inc., Chicago, USA) Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were performed. Results: Among 151 students, 64.2% had poor oral health, 52.3% and 64.2% student had unsatisfactory awareness toward oral health and oral hygiene practice, respectively. Females had better oral health awareness and better practice scores than males. Factors such as satisfactory practice of oral hygiene (odds ratio [OR] = 6.7 [3.4–12.2]); satisfactory awareness toward oral health (OR = 2.9 [1.9–3.5]); and gender (OR = 2.9 [1.5–5.8]) were associated with good oral health. Awareness toward oral health (OR = 5.8 [2.8–12.2]) are also strongly associated with the good practice of oral hygiene. In the final model of multivariable logistic regression analysis, factors such as the practice of oral hygiene (adjusted OR [AOR] = 6.8 [3.2–14.5]) and awareness toward oral health (AOR = 2.1 [1.3–3.6]) retained significance. Conclusion: Oral health promotion programs and periodic health checkups are needed.