Oral Hygiene, Caries Prevalence and Oral Health Knowledge among 12 to 15 Year Old Schoolchildren in Al Karak, Jordan

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate oral hygiene, gingival status and prevalence of dental caries among 12 to 15 year old schoolchildren in Al Karak governorate, Southern Jordan. Oral health knowledge among the study population was assessed through a questionnaire. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 730 pupils from the 12 to 15 year old age group. Of those there were 263 (36%) males and 467 (64%) females from sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth grades. All participants were examined for oral hygiene, gingival condition and dental caries experience, using the Silness and Löe Plaque Index (PI), Löe and Silness Gingival Index (GI), and Decayed (D), Missing (M) and Filled (F) teeth (DMFT) codes respectively. The examiner evaluated oral health knowledge among the study population through a special questionnaire designed for this purpose. Results: Regarding oral hygiene, the mean PI of the total subjects was 1.33. With regard to gender variation, results showed that the mean PI for males was 1.38 but for females it was 1.30. The difference was statistically non-significant, (p=0.126). The mean GI of the total subjects was 1.40. For males it was 1.55 but for females it was 1.32. The difference was statistically significant (p<0.001). Regarding caries prevalence, 25.8 % of the study population were caries free. The mean DMFT index of the total subjects was 2.82, with a mean DMFT value of 2.62 for males and 2.91 for females. The difference was statistically non-significant (p=0.110). Regarding oral health knowledge, 55.2% of all study population knew that gingival bleeding means gingivitis, 35.5% of participants knew that brushing and flossing are used to prevent gingivitis, and only 28.5% of the sample knew the meaning of dental plaque. Conclusions: Regarding oral hygiene, the results of this study showed that males had non-significant higher plaque index and significantly higher gingival index than females, but with regard to caries prevalence, females had non-significant higher DMFT scores than males. However, the values of these clinical scores were lower than those results previously reported from other places in Jordan. This study indicated that oral health awareness level among public schoolchildren in Jordan is still poor and needs to be improved. Long-term school based oral health education programme is highly recommended.