REFINED CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE AND KNOWLEDGE OF ORAL HEALTH AMONG STUDENTS IN PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN...

The knowledge of an individual about oral health and the practice of good oral hygiene will go a long way in determining the oral health status of such an individual. Frequent intake of refined carbohydrates, without optimum oral hygiene procedure, has been implicated in the aetiology of oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontitis. The aim of the study was to assess the oral health knowledge of some secondary school students in two LGAs in Ibadan, Oyo State.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was done using multistage sampling techniques and conducted across the classes in the selected senior secondary school. A pretested, self-administered, structured questionnaire with 12 items, adopted from Sternberg et al, was used for the data collection. A total of 248 participants consisting of 97 (39.1%) males and 151 (60.9) females completed and submitted the questionnaires. Data analysis was done using the statistical product and service solutions (SPSS 26.0).Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.

Knowledge assessment of oral health education; 94.4% of the participants had good knowledge, while 5.6% of the participants had poor knowledge. More females (60.3%) than males (39.7%) had good knowledge of oral health. The age range of participants was from 11 to 19 years, with a mean (SD) -14.68 (±1.45). On the knowledge of oral health, 234(94.4%) of participants perceived excessive consumption of sweet food can cause dental caries; 9(3.6%) did not; and; 5(2.0%) undecided. On teeth brushing at least twice daily 238 (96.0%) participants agreed, and 6(2.4%) did not, and 4(1.6%) were undecided. Participants from public schools had a higher frequency of refined carbohydrate intake, with a low pattern of 9.2%, a moderate pattern of 52.7%, and a high pattern of 38.1%. The socio-demographic characteristics of the participants were not statistically significant against the pattern of intake of refined carbohydrates following bivariate analysis.

The supposedly good knowledge of oral health education of respondents in this study was not matched equally with a good pattern of refined carbohydrate intake. This calls for a concerted effort towards improving oral health campaigns among secondary school students.