ACTA FAC. MED. NAISS. 2004; 21 (1): 29-35

Original article

LEVEL OF INFORMATIVE KNOWLEDGE OF URBAN AND RURAL SEVEN-YEAR-OLDS ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF PROPER NUTRITION, ORAL HYGIENE AND FLUORIDE PROPHYLAXIS ON DENTAL HEALTH

    Marija Igić, Mirjana Apostolović, Milanka Savić, Ljiljana Kostadinović
    The Faculty of Medicine Nis - Dental Clinic Nis

    SUMMARY

Health education is necessary, in order to inform children about the effects of proper nutrition, oral hygiene and fluoride prophylaxis on their dental health.
    The goal of this paper is to present the survey results concerning the differences in the level of information on the effects of proper nutrition, oral hygiene and fluoride prophylaxis on dental health in seven-year-olds in rural and urban environments.
    The results obtained indicate that, in both rural and urban environments, the number of seven-year-old children who are well-informed about the effects of nutrition on their dental health prevails over the number of those who are uninformed. The number of seven-year-olds informed about the importance of oral hygiene for dental health is greater in urban environment, while there are more uninformed children in rural environment. As for the level of information about the effects of fluoride prophylaxis on dental health, the number of informed urban children is very low, while none of the rural seven-year olds are informed about it.
    Overall results show a statistically significant difference (p<0.001) in the level of information of urban seven-year-old population - compared to the rural population, urban children are better informed in all three groups of questions. As shown by the results of this survey, this is a consequence of, among other reasons, the presence of school dental surgeries, where children can regularly obtain necessary information on proper dental care.

Key words: level of information, nutrition, oral hygiene, fluoride prophylaxis