title: The oral health knowledge and oral hygiene practices among primary school children age 5-17 years in a rural area of Uasin Gishu district, Kenya.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the oral health knowledge and oral hygiene practices among school children in the study region
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among primary school going children in Kapsaret Educational division, Uasin-Gishu District, Kenya. A researcher administered questionnaire was used to determine the oral health knowledge and practices in a random sample of 401 students in the period March to June 2002.
  
  
  RESULTS
  92% of the students claimed they brushed their teeth. About 48% brushed at least twice daily. More students (59.1%) reported using the chewing stick compared to those using commercial toothbrushes (p = 0.000).Female students brushed more frequently than their male counterparts (p = 0.000, chi2 = 24.65). 39.9% of the students knew the cause of tooth decay, 48.2% could state at least one method of prevention, while 16.5% knew the importance of teeth. Use of toothpaste was reported by 38.9% of the students.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Less than half of the students knew the causes of tooth decay and how to prevent it. Only about half of the students brushed their teeth twice daily with the chewing stick being more frequently used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is need to increase the oral health knowledge through well Planned school based oral health education programmes in the primary schools. This would hopefully lead to improvement on the oral hygiene practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community, Preventive Dentistry/Periodontology, School of Dentistry, Moi University, Box 4606, Eldoret, Kenya. okemwaken@yahoo.ca
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Okemwa
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Gatongi
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rotich
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D006267:Health Education, Dental; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007630:Kenya; D008297:Male; D009909:Oral Health; D009910:Oral Hygiene / Q000379:methods*; D012423:Rural Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012574:Schools; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014099:Toothbrushing; D014100:Toothpastes
chemical_list: D014100:Toothpastes