Oral health behavior and its relationship with dental caries status and periodontal status among 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur, India.

AIM The aim of the study was to assess the oral health behavior and its relationship with dental caries status and periodontal status among 12-13 year old school children in Udaipur, India. MATERIAL AND METHODS In a cross-sectional study, a total of 514 children of 12-13 years old (306 (59.5%) Boys and 208 (40.5%) Girls) were surveyed using a Performa prepared with help of a self administered structured questionnaire written in English and validated through a pilot survey including 13 multiple choice questions to assess the oral health behavior and modified dentition status and CPI index for recording dental caries and periodontal status respectively. Frequency distribution, mean scores and standard deviation were calculated. The Student's t-test and chi-squared test were used as a test of significance. RESULTS The mean percentage behavior scores among all were 64.34 ± 11.37, with no statistically significant difference in the behavior scores by age or gender. Dental caries was 18.9% with no statistically significant difference for the mean percentage behavior scores among the children with dental caries (63.79 ± 11.95) and those without dental caries (64.47 ± 11.24). Calculus was the most prevalent condition (50.6%) with significantly higher behavior (65.82 ± 11.05) among those with calculus than those with healthy periodontium (62.21 ± 11.02). CONCLUSION To conclude, behavior at least in this sample of children does not appear to predict their actual oral health status. Though dental caries prevalence (18.9%) was low, the high prevalence of calculus (50.6%) found in present study indicates a need for oral health promotion including health education along with oral health care service provision.