ORAL HEALTH KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICE AMONG PUPILS

This descriptive study identified and analyzed the oral health knowledge and practice among private school pupils. Specifically, it looked into the profile of respondents along grade level, sex, and highest educational attainment of their parents, knowledge on causes and preventive measures of oral diseases, strengths and weaknesses of oral health and extent of practice on oral hygiene and extent of practice along oral hygiene, correlation analysis between their level of knowledge on oral health and extent of practice on oral hygiene. Data were collected using a researcher- made questionnaire. The participants were the 293 pupils of grades 4 to 6 in Saint Louis College, City of San Fernando, La Union. The data were treated statistically using frequencies, percentages, means, and t-ratio for r. The study found that most of the pupils were male; they all showed high knowledge about the causes and preventive measures of oral diseases; but oral hygiene was moderately practiced. There is a significant positive relationship between oral health knowledge and extent of practice of oral hygiene. There is a need to increase the oral hygiene knowledge and practice through well-planned school.