Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding oral health among government school teachers of panchkula

Context: Schools exert maximum influence on lives of children and youth; and can play a key role in supporting students health and by extension, the health of their families and communities. A teacher with sufficient knowledge on dental health can be a cornerstone in encouraging and motivating children. So, it is imperative to have teachers with good knowledge ,attitude and practices of oral health. Aims: To assess the Knowledge, attitude and practice regarding oral health among government school teachers of Panchkula. Settings and Design: A Multistage probability sampling was used. Methods and Material: The primary sampling unit comprised of Panchkula district. The teachers were selected by multistage cluster sampling method. Results: Around 91.4% female and 92% male teachers knew the fact that oral health does have a role on general health. When attitudes of teachers on oral health was assessed, it was observed that 90.7% female and all (100%) male teachers accepted the fact that maintenance of oral health is an individual responsibility. Around 86.4% female and 76% male teachers brushed their teeth twice daily and 13.6% female and 24% male teachers brushed once daily. Conclusions: Even though most of the teachers show satisfactory knowledge in some aspects of preventive oral health, they still lag behind in knowledge in some crucial parts of oral health. The results of this study did not show favorable performance from the teachers.