Dental Health Knowledge, Attitude and Practice on the Occurrence of Dental Caries Among Adolescents in a Local Government Area (LGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria

This study was carried out in order to identify the extent of dental caries occurrence and to relate it with the dental health knowledge, attitude and practice among adolescents in Ibadan North (LGA) of Oyo State Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. Self structured questionnaire and dental examination were instruments used for obtaining the necessary information. A total number of six hundred and thirty seven adolescents, who were drawn from ten schools within Ibadan North (LGA) of Oyo State Nigeria, participated in the study. Participants displayed significantly high knowledge, positive attitude and sound practices towards dental health. Percentage dental caries occurrence was 6.1% and this was found to be prevalent among females (69.2%), among those within the age bracket 14-16 years (61.5%) and those attending public Schools (76.9%). Dental caries occurrence among these adolescents was also observed to be negatively correlated with their dental health knowledge (r = -0.026), attitude (r = -0.031) and practice (r = -0.060). Health instructional programs that encourage healthful dental habits among adolescents should be intensified in schools.