Oral health status among secondary school students in Mosul City Centre/Iraq

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the oral hygiene and gingival health among secondary school students and to find ifthere was any variation between age and sex groups in Mosul City Centre. Material and Methods: Asample of 630 students aged 16–18 years old (278 males, 352 females) were examined using plaqueindex score and gingival index. The clinical examinations were carried out in the school using planemouth mirrors, WHO periodontal probes to detect the dental plaque and gingival health. Results:Showed that the mean plaque score for the total sample was 0.96, the plaque index increased with age.Females reported less mean plaque scores than males with statistically significant difference betweenthem. The mean gingival score was 0.56 for the total sample and it increased with age. There was asignificant difference between males and females. The study revealed that 35.9% of the total sampledid not brush their teeth. Therefore the objective of dental health education to those subjects is to brushtheir teeth regularly and to improve the effectiveness of oral hygiene practice. Conclusion: Periodontaldisease is indirectly related to the exposure of bacterial plaque for long time which calls forcoordinated planning of preventive strategies and urgent priorities