The purpose of this study was to examine the oral health knowledge and implementation of children in elementary school. A survey was conducted over 236 fourth, fifth and sixth graders in an elementary school in the city of Y, Kyonggi Province. As result of analyzing the collected data, the following findings were obtainde :
1. Most of the subjects had ever received oral health education. Especially, the boy students and the fifith graders had experienced most oral health education. Most students had visited dental clinics as well, and the boy children and the sixth graders had have most experiences to wisit dental clinics. The students who found oral treatment supplier to be kind were much more than those who didn´t, and particularly, the girls and the fourth graders considered oral treatment supplier more kind. More students went to dental clinics immediately after they had a toothache, and the girls and the fourth graders had most tendency to do so.
2. Concerning oral health knowledge, more students were not aware of the importance of regular oral examination. That importance was most recognized by the girl children and the fifth graders. Their avareness of dental caries was very poor, but the boys and the fourth graders had more knowledge about it than the others. Their awareness of fissure sealing was also poor, but the boys and the sixth graders were more aware of it.
3. Their oral health care implementation was as below:
1) As for the time for toothbrushing, all the students brushed their teeth after breakfast most often, regardless of gender and grade, and the next most frequent
toothbrushing time was after every meal and before going to bed, the right time for toothbrushing. Especially, more girls and more fifth graders implemented toothbrushing in the right way. There was a significant difference in toothbrushing before every meal between the boys and girls (P<0.05) .
2) In regard to the right toothbrushing method, a roll method was most widely used, regardless of gender and grade. Especially, more girls and more fifth graders employed a roll method. In the use of Fone´s method and Bass method, a significant difference existed between the grades(P<0.05, P<0.01).
3) The most common toothbrushing goal was to prevent dental caries or periodontitis, regardless of gender and grade. More boys and more fifth graders brushed their teeth for that purpose.
4) The largest reason to visit to dental clinics was to have their teeth treated, regardless of gender and grade. Specifically, more girls and more fifth graders went to dental clinics for that purpose.
5) The most favorite food to eat between meals was fruit and vegetables, regardless of gender and grade, and the foods were most favored by the girls and the fifth graders. The intake of soft drink was significantly different according to gender and grade(P<0.05), and grade also made a significant difference to the intake of confectionery and chocolate (P<0.05).
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