Oral health problems among school children in rural area: a cross-sectional study

Jayalekshmi C. S.; Shrikant S. Birajdar; Keerthana C.; Ravindra B. Gurav

doi:10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20240632

Authors

Jayalekshmi C. S. Department of Community Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Maharashtra, India
Shrikant S. Birajdar Department of Community Medicine, Vilasrao Deshmukh Government Medical College, Latur, Maharashtra, India
Keerthana C. Department of Community Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Maharashtra, India
Ravindra B. Gurav Department of Community Medicine, Rajiv Gandhi Medical College, Thane, Maharashtra, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20240632

Keywords:

Oral morbidity, School children, Rural area

Abstract

Background: Students are the wealth of the nation as they constitute one of the important segments of the population. The foundation of good health and sound mind is laid during the school age period. During this period, they are vulnerable to various oral health problems. These conditions are the hurdles in their physical, mental, emotional, and social development. In view of this, a study was conducted to assess the oral health status of the school students in rural areas.

Methods: Cross-sectional study was conducted in rural area among school children in the month of March 2023. Standard proforma was used to record the data related to oral morbidity among the subjects. Data entry and statistical analysis was done with the help of Microsoft Excel. ꭓ² and SE (p₁-p₂) tests were used to compare difference in categorical variables. The statistical level of significance was fixed at p<0.05.

Results: 432 students were examined. 226 (52.31%) subjects were having oral morbidity. 151 (66.81%) subjects in the age group of 5-10 years while 75 (33.19%) in the age group of >10-16 years were having oral health problems (p<0.05). 155 (59.73%) students from primary section and 71 (40.27%) students from secondary section were suffering from oral morbidity (p<0.05). Dental caries was observed among 194 (44.91%) subjects followed by mouth ulcers (09.72%). 143 (53.36%) underweight subjects were suffering from dental caries (p<0.05).

Conclusions: Common oral health problems found in school going children can be addressed with the implementation of school health program in effective way. These common infirmities can be prevented by actively involving parents and teachers in school health services.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

References

Anga VS, Panabaka RB, Prakash KK. A cross sectional study of morbidity pattern among children attending primary schools in Vijayawada. Med Innovat. 2021;10(2):60-9.

Singh M, Choudhary D, Tak H. Health profile of primary school students: a cross sectional study among urban and rural areas of eastern Haryana. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2023;10(7):2437-40.

Pathania D, Devgan S. Challenges in School Health in India. J Positive Psychol. 2022;6(7):3095-100.

Jain YK, Joshi NK, Bhardwaj P. Health-promoting school in India: Approaches and challenges. J Family Med Primary Care. 2019;8(10):3114-9.

Shree N, Dasgupta A, Paul B. Assessment of oral health and hygiene practices among students of high school, Hooghly district, West Bengal. J Oral Health Community Dent. 2021;15(3):108-11.

Kausar H, Sambutwad RC, Shafee M. Prevalence of morbidity and morbidity pattern among primary school children in rural area of Jalna, Maharashtra, India. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;3(6):1623-7.

Sharma S, Raut P, Gurav RB. Prevalence of dental caries and other oral health problems among municipal secondary school children in Mumbai metropolitan region. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2023;10(9):3311-6.

Mhaske MS, Khismatrao DS, Kevin F. Morbidity pattern and personal hygiene in children among private primary school in urban area: Are the trends changing? J Family Med Primary Care. 2013;2(3):266-9.

Gokhale CN, Borgaonkar CA, Shanbhag SS. Morbidity pattern among primary school children in a tribal area of Maharashtra. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;5(1):165-9.

Kar K, Pradhan S, Samal BP. Morbidity pattern of school children: a study conducted in the urban field practice area of a tertiary health care center of Odisha, India. Int J Res Med Sci. 2018;6(7):2489-94.