ABSTRACT
Background: The present study aimed to assess the oral health knowledge, attitude and practices of tribal schoolchildren of Gujarat, India. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 693 tribal schoolchildren were surveyed using a self-administered, structured questionnaire. Children were grouped by age into 3 groups - 1 (3-5 years), 2 (6-9 years) and 3 (10-13 years). Analysis of Variance, Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation and linear regression analysis were used to assess the relationship between oral health knowledge-attitude (KA) scores and practice (P). Results: KA and P scores were highest for Group 2, followed by Group 3. The differences between scores of Groups 1 and 2, and Groups 1 and 3 were of statistical significance (P < 0.05). Pearson correlations between KA and P scores of study population and each study groups were positive indicating P increased with increase in KA. Linear relationship is seen between KA and P, indicating that oral health knowledge and attitude is a significant variable to predict oral health practices (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The study concluded that there were deficiencies in the tribal children’s knowledge and attitude towards oral health and oral health practices. However, all knowledge was not always converted into practice. [Rajal P NJIRM 2016; 7(5):64-68]