title: Oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of children and adolescents of orphanages in jodhpur city rajasthan, India.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study had twin objectives of assessing the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices and to assess the dental caries status and treatment needs among the orphan children of orphanages of Jodhpur city, Rajasthan, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross- sectional study was carried out on 100 children to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of children and adolescents of orphanages in Jodhpur city, Rajasthan, India. The data was collected on a pre-tested questionnaire which included 20 closed ended multiple-choice questions on perceived oral health status, knowledge of oral health and attitude, oral health practices, dietary habits and behaviour towards dental treatment. On completion of the questionnaire, each child underwent an oral examination and Dentition status and treatment needs index (WHO Oral Health Surveys- 1997) was recorded for each subject.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Almost 93% of the children felt the necessity of maintaining oral hygiene. There were 69% of the children who believed that it was necessary to brush teeth after every meal, 51% children believed that regular tooth-brushing prevents all tooth problems and 93% children knew that tobacco is carcinogenic in nature. Also, it was found that 77% of the children believed that regular dental visits help in maintaining oral hygiene.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Many of them had acquired knowledge on oral health. More than half of the study subjects were aware of the importance of keeping good oral hygiene, regular dental visits and harmful effects of tobacco.
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Rinki
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hans
authors.affiliation: Professor and Head of Department, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Reader, Department of Public Health Dentistryy, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Rushabh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dagli
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Geetika Arora
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Bhateja
authors.affiliation: Post- Graduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Akanksha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Post- Graduate Student, Department of Public Health Dentistry, Vyas Dental College & Hospital , Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India .
authors.forename: Amarpreet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Singh
keywords: Dental caries; Oral health; Tobacco