Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon

Purpose Educators can also contribute to the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC) by educating children about oral diseases and hygiene practices. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of pre-school teachers concerning oral and dental health in Trabzon. Su...

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Main Authors: Ezgi Baltacı, Özgül Baygın, Tamer Tüzüner, Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Istanbul University 2019-01-01
Series:European Oral Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/1CD58DF90A/12FF7D227431440F8A822F165128E9BF?doi=10.26650/eor.20199213
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author Ezgi Baltacı
Özgül Baygın
Tamer Tüzüner
Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz
author_facet Ezgi Baltacı
Özgül Baygın
Tamer Tüzüner
Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz
author_sort Ezgi Baltacı
collection DOAJ
description Purpose Educators can also contribute to the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC) by educating children about oral diseases and hygiene practices. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of pre-school teachers concerning oral and dental health in Trabzon. Subjects and methods The study was carried out with 226 pre-school teachers in the city center using a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the oral and dental health of children. Results Only 29.8% of the respondents had a prior dental education. Although 83% of the teachers said that regular visits to the dentist were effective for caries prevention, only 13.2% said that they made regular visits to a dentist. Approximately 65.8% of the teachers agreed that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and 35.1% of the teachers said that there were oral health activities in their schools. Additionally, 74.6% of teachers said that they would participate in dental education about children’s oral health in the future. Conclusion Preventive dental health program could be implemented including the proper behaviors related to the importance and treatability of primary teeth, first tooth cleaning, dental visits, the use of fluoride toothpaste, and oral hygiene into the preschool teachers’ undergraduate education programs in the future. This program should be repeated at certain intervals for the prevention of ECC.
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spelling doaj.art-ae665a3e5a5a45dc9a6c6be09ec294942023-02-15T16:14:39ZengIstanbul UniversityEuropean Oral Research2630-61582651-28232019-01-01531122010.26650/eor.20199213Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of TrabzonEzgi Baltacı0Özgül Baygın1Tamer Tüzüner2Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz3Trakya University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Edirne, TurkeyKaradeniz Technical University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Trabzon, TurkeyKaradeniz Technical University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Trabzon, TurkeyKaradeniz Technical University, Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Prosthodontics, Trabzon, TurkeyPurpose Educators can also contribute to the prevention of early childhood caries (ECC) by educating children about oral diseases and hygiene practices. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of pre-school teachers concerning oral and dental health in Trabzon. Subjects and methods The study was carried out with 226 pre-school teachers in the city center using a self-administered questionnaire to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors concerning the oral and dental health of children. Results Only 29.8% of the respondents had a prior dental education. Although 83% of the teachers said that regular visits to the dentist were effective for caries prevention, only 13.2% said that they made regular visits to a dentist. Approximately 65.8% of the teachers agreed that fluoride strengthens tooth enamel and 35.1% of the teachers said that there were oral health activities in their schools. Additionally, 74.6% of teachers said that they would participate in dental education about children’s oral health in the future. Conclusion Preventive dental health program could be implemented including the proper behaviors related to the importance and treatability of primary teeth, first tooth cleaning, dental visits, the use of fluoride toothpaste, and oral hygiene into the preschool teachers’ undergraduate education programs in the future. This program should be repeated at certain intervals for the prevention of ECC.https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/1CD58DF90A/12FF7D227431440F8A822F165128E9BF?doi=10.26650/eor.20199213Dental education; oral health; preschool; early childhood caries; teacher
spellingShingle Ezgi Baltacı
Özgül Baygın
Tamer Tüzüner
Fatih Mehmet Korkmaz
Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
European Oral Research
Dental education; oral health; preschool; early childhood caries; teacher
title Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
title_full Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
title_fullStr Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
title_short Evaluation of the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of pre-school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of Trabzon
title_sort evaluation of the knowledge attitudes and behaviors of pre school teachers on oral and dental health in the city center of trabzon
topic Dental education; oral health; preschool; early childhood caries; teacher
url https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/1CD58DF90A/12FF7D227431440F8A822F165128E9BF?doi=10.26650/eor.20199213
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