RT - Journal TY - JOUR A1 - Priya, M A1 - Devdas, Kanagharekha A1 - Amarlal, Deepti A1 - Venkatachalapathy, A T1 - Oral health attitudes, knowledge and practice among school children in Chennai, India YR - 2013/1/1 JF - Journal of Education and Ethics in Dentistry JO - J Educ Ethics Dent SP - 26 OP - 33 VO - 3 IS - 1 UL - https://www.jeed.in/article.asp?issn=0974-7761;year=2013;volume=3;issue=1;spage=26;epage=33;aulast=Priya;t=5 DO - 10.4103/0974-7761.126940 N2 - Background: Oral health is fundamental to general health and well-being. Sources of oral health information for adults have been examined but documentation of children's sources is limited. Aim: The aim of the following study is to investigate the dental health attitudes, knowledge and practice of school children in Chennai using a questionnaire. Materials and Methods: The subjects for this study were randomly selected from five private and five government schools in the age group of 10-16 years. A total of 592 children were screened, of which 219 were males and 373 were females. Results: Overall the level of knowledge score was statistically significant with P = 0.004. There was statistically significant difference with P = 0.008 when comparing the frequency of brushing the teeth twice per day among the two different age groups. Comparing the various other factors such as gender, type of school and age groups to the visit to the dentist, it was observed that statistically significant difference with P < 0.001) was found when comparing the female children (75.3%) and male children (60.3%) and P = 0.002 observed when comparing the younger and older age group who visited the dentist. Conclusion: The overall level of oral health knowledge among the surveyed children was low. ER -