Oral hygiene practices and caries experience among school leaving children in rural area

Background: Dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease and its treatment is the most prevalent unmet health need among school-leaving children. Caries experience among school leaving age group is important as India is a rapidly growing nation in terms of population as today's children are tomorrow's future citizens of the nation. Methodology: To know the oral hygiene practices and caries experience among school-leaving children in a rural area, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the Chebrolu Mandal using a multistage random sampling technique to obtain the required sample size. The data were collected using pretested structured questionnaire followed by oral examination using the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) index. The descriptive analysis included mean and standard deviations, Chi-square test, unpaired t-test, and one-way analysis of variance. Results: Only a few children have a habit of brushing their teeth twice daily 137 (27.6%); rinse their mouth after every meal 116 (23.4%); dispose of toothbrush every 3 months (11.7%); spends < 1-min brushing (4.8%); and cleans their tongue using tongue cleaner (25.2%). When DMFT scores were compared to the brushing techniques of the children, significantly higher mean DMFT scores were observed in children who brush once a day (1.49 +/- 1.133). Conclusion: Caries' experience was more in children who brushed their teeth once a day with horizontal brushing technique and this shows that the study subjects do not follow correct brushing techniques and other oral hygiene practices.