Oral health related knowledge, attitude, and practice among the pre-university students of Mysore city

OBJECTIVES: To determine the oral health related behavior, knowledge, attitudes, and practices of pre-university students of Mysore city. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among 1000 pre-university students of Mysore city. RESULTS: Statistical tests such as percentage distribution and Chi-square were used. P values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Most of the students (88%, n = 880) knew that dental health reflects on the general health. Eighty-nine percent (n = 890) of students were aware that sweets and sticky food cause dental decay. Majority of the students (90%, n = 900) agreed that they visited dentist only when they had pain and cleaned their teeth once daily using toothbrush and tooth paste in vertical and horizontal motion. CONCLUSION: The study showed that the students had good knowledge about the basic oral health measures necessary to maintain proper oral health, but their attitude and practices toward oral health was relatively poor.