Dental health knowledge and attitudes of primary school teachers toward dental health education in Maceió, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Objective:To evaluate the levels of knowledge and attitudes toward oral health of preschool teachers of Maceió, Alagoas. Material and Methods:Cross-sectional study using a pretested structured questionnaire (32 teachersequivalent to 20% of the sample) applied to 140 teachers of Child Day Care Centers of Maceió. To assess the level of information of survey participants (dependent variable), frequency from 0 to 49.99% of correct answers of questions proposed was considered unsatisfactory knowledge; 50 to 70% as reasonable knowledge and above 70% as satisfactory knowledge. Independent variables were age, sex, educational level, marital status and children. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software 17.0 and presented as descriptive statistics and Logistic Regression (p < 0.05%). Results:The level of knowledge of teachers on the etiology of caries was unsatisfactory, because although 90% reported that sugar is responsible for the decay process, only 3.6% reported that its excessive consumption is the responsible for the emergence of the disease; the level of knowledge for periodontal disease was unsatisfactory, since only 32.1% correctly answered the meaning of plaque. Teachers over 40 years and with children are more likely to have satisfactory knowledge regarding oral health and 88.6% of these professionals have already conducted some activity related to the theme. Conclusion:Although most teachers have done oral health activities, the level of knowledge of teachers about the etiology of caries and periodontal disease was considered unsatisfactory, therefore further clarification in oral health is need so that teachers could act as agents in oral health promotion