Oral infections of quranic school students in Koutiala: Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study was to study the knowledge, attitudes, and practices on oral infections of students from three Quranic schools in Koutiala. Material and methods: We carried out a descriptive prospective study that lasted six months from February 20 to August 20, 2015 on 300 students from three quranic schools in the city of Koutiala. The data was collected from the survey sheets, captured and analyzed with the Epi Info 3.5.4 software. Results: The male sex was the most represented with 57.67%. The sex ratio = 0.73. The most represented age group was 8-12 with 52% with an average age of 17 and extremes of 8 and 26 years. In our study 98.33% of students had a notion of knowledge about oral infections and this information was given by parents / elders in 60% of cases. Students defined caries as a kind of cancer or contagious disease in 60% of cases. They claimed that people who did not brush their teeth properly were the most likely to be involved in tooth decay in 93.33% of cases. In our study 61.33% of students said that caries is transmitted by lack of oral hygiene (HBD); 33.33% of students said that the use of toothbrushes + good HBD are the means of fighting against oral infections. The students in 66.67% of the cases advised their friend to go himself to the health center and they thought in 93.33% of the cases that a good HBD prevents the oral infections. The students said they brushed their teeth every day in 98% of the cases and they had a consultation with the dental surgeon in 8.67% of the cases. Conclusion: This study shows that students had knowledge of oral infections, causes and prevention of oral diseases. Efforts must be made to promote, prevent, detect and manage infections in schools and universities, not to mention quranic schools, while integrating parents into the process.