Impact of Three Different Education Methods on Oral Hygiene and Theoretical Knowledge of Schoolchildren

Objective: To evaluate the impact of three different education methods on the oral hygiene levels of school children using clinical and theoretical findings. Material and Methods: 144 children (72 males and 72 females), whose ages ranged between 8-13, were divided into 12 equal experimental groups according to their ages and gender. They were all considered to have poor hygiene. Only one out of the three different education methods (brochure, model or video) was applied to each group. The percentage change in PI, GI, BOP and theoretical test points from the baseline to the 6th months were evaluated. The data was statistically analysed by using Kolmogorov- Smirnov and One-way ANOVA tests. Results: Reduction in PI, GI and BOP scores was significantly greater (p<0.05) in the video applied groups compared to the brochure groups in the age of 8-10 groups for both genders and in 11-13-year-old males. In 11- 13-year-old females, all methods showed similar results (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in test points in 8-10 and 11-13-year-old female groups (p>0.05), whereas a significant increase in test points was observed in the video and model applied groups compared to the brochure groups in 8-10 and 11-13-year-old male groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: It may be more helpful and effective for children to get the oral hygiene education using the visual methods, especially for those under the age of ten.

The Prevalence and the Characteristics of Supernumerary Teeth of Children and Young Adolescents from North-Western Region of Turkey.

Aim: The objective of the following research is to study the prevalence by evaluating a large group of children and young adolescent patients from the north-western region of Turkey and investigate the characteristics of supernumerary teeth. Methodology: This descriptive and retrospective study was performed on 6535 non-syndromic children and adolescent patients (4077 females and 2458 males) ranging in age from 5 to 18 years old. The characteristics of supernumerary teeth were noted and diagnosed during the clinical and radiographic examination. For each patient we recorded the demographic variables including age and gender. During statistical analysis Chi-squared test was used to determine potential differences in the distribution of supernumerary teeth when stratified by gender. p value of less than .05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 177 supernumerary teeth were detected in 141 patients (2.2%). 58 patients were females and 83 patients were males with a 1.4:1 male/female ratio (p<.001) among them. In 78.0% (n=110) of patients, one supernumerary tooth was observed. A total of 177 supernumerary teeth were observed, of which 84.2% (n=149) were located in the maxillary arch, while 15.8% (n=28) were determined in the mandible. 78 teeth (44.1%) of all supernumerary teeth were found in the maxilla midline (mesiodens). Regarding their status within the arch, 65 supernumerary teeth (36.7%) had erupted. 100(56.5%) supernumerary teeth did not cause any complications whereas 77(43.5%) teeth caused a complication. 119 supernumerary teeth (67.2%) were extracted and most of them were the complication source, however periodical observation was chosen as a treatment option for 58 teeth (32.8%). Conclusion: The frequency of supernumerary teeth was 2.2% in the following research and we found out that supernumerary teeth are not a very rare case among children and young adolescents and clinicians should take measures and examine all patients carefully even at early ages.