The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the residential area of elementary schoolers to their oral-health care. dental- caries experience and frequency of eating carbohydrates. The subjects of this study were 587 sixth graders. Fo...
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of the residential area of elementary schoolers to their oral-health care. dental- caries experience and frequency of eating carbohydrates. The subjects of this study were 587 sixth graders. For data analysis, SPSSWIN 10.0 program was employed, and the findings of the study were as follows:
1. As for the relationship of general characteristics and residential area to DMFT index, that index was lower among the boys whose mothers were older or better educated or whose living standard was higher, in the case of urban area. In rural communities, that index was lower among the girls whose mothers were younger or better educated or who were from the middle-income c1ass.
2. Concerning connections between residential area and weekly frequency of eating carbohydrates, noodles were most widely eaten by school children regardless of residential areas. followed by bread and soft drink. There was a significant disparity in the frequency of eating noodles and rice cake(p=.011, p=.044).
3. Regarding the relationship of residential area to oral-health care and DMFT index, that index was lower among those who did fluoride mouth rinse, brushed their teeth after meals and did toothbrushing without fail in the right way, but the difference between them and the others was insignificant. Concerning periodical dental checkup, there appeared a regional gap, as the DMFT index(3.26) of the urban dwellers who had their teeth examined without fail exceeded that(2.61) of the rural residents who did the same.
4. As for the relationship of residential area to oral-health care and weekly frequency of eating carbohydrates, those who didn't do fluoride mouth rinse ate carbohydrates 2.61 times, and those who had their teeth examined without fail on a regular basis ate such food 2.66 times. The former group ate carbohydrates the least. and the gap between the groups was significant. The children who didn't brush their teeth after meals ate carbohydrates 2.43 times, which showed they didn't eat carbohydrates a lot, but the intergroup difference was insignificant. In relation to toothbrushing method, the elementary schoolers who brushed their teeth in the right way without fail or depending on circumstances ate such food 2.75 times, which indicated they didn't eat carbohydrates a lot, and there was a significant gap only between the urban areas.