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Oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices among Yemeni school students

Aim: Oral health is fundamental to general health and well-being. However, the sources of oral health information among Yemenis are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices among secondary school students in Dawan Valley, Yemen. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among 392 secondary school students. Students were interviewed using structured questionnaires in Arabic. The structured questionnaires included inquiries on oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices. Chi-square test was used to assess significant differences in oral health knowledge, attitude, and practices with respect to gender. Results: The study population comprised 392 participants of 15–22 years' age group. Approximately 87% of students reported brushing their teeth daily. Girls showed better oral hygiene practices compared with boys in terms of daily brushing habit, brushing intervals, and toothbrush replacement (P = 0.001, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively). Statistically significant difference (in favor of females) was observed related to knowledge on the impact of dental diseases on the general health, toothbrushing preventing dental decay, sugar consumption possibly leading to dental decay, bleeding during brushing possibly indicating gum diseases, and effects of smoking and khat chewing on oral health (P = 0.009, 0.020, 0.001, 0.001, 0.002, and 0.023, respectively). Conclusion: The majority of students possess an adequate level of knowledge and practices on oral health, with female students showing predominance. However, regular visits to the dentist remain low among the study participants.