Formation of dental culture among school students as a social and pedagogical problem

Abstract

Material and methods. Questionnaire survey of students of grades 9-11 and teachers of secondary schools in Uzhhorod. Research results. Among the factors harmful to dental health, students most often indicated poor oral hygiene – 398 (95.2%), smoking – 282 (67.5%); consumption of alcoholic beverages – 193 (46.2%), ignoring preventive examinations at the dentist – 180 (43.1%). The majority of schoolchildren – 133 (31.8%) use adult toothpaste for brushing their teeth, the minority uses children’s toothpaste. According to the schoolchildren themselves, most of them (224 respondents – 53.6%) learned a lot about dental health at school, and only 34 (8.1%) respondents believe that they did not acquire any new knowledge in this area. In the work of 6.2% of teachers, the attitude towards the holistic development of schoolchildren’s dental culture is clearly manifested, the need to develop insufficient dental knowledge and skills is clearly expressed, 42.5% of teachers have a good attitude, and 48.4% of educators have a satisfactory attitude towards the development of students’ dental culture. 2.9% of teachers found themselves at an unacceptably low level of work on dental knowledge, abilities and skills of students. Conclusions. It is possible to develop a positive attitude in a child towards a healthy lifestyle and maintaining dental health only through the joint efforts of children’s dentists, teachers and parents using various forms of sanitary and educational work.