The Impact of Teachers Oral Health Knowledge on the Oral Condition of Kindergarten Children in Baghdad City

Background Teachers have an internationally recognized potential role in oral health education, and this considerable importance has therefore been attributed to their knowledge. A teacher with adequate knowledge toward oral health may play a better role in health education for kindergarten children and thus implementing healthy oral practices, which will eventually leads to better oral health condition. Aim of the study This study was conducted to assess oral health knowledge among kindergarten teachers and its impact on the oral health condition of kindergarten children in Al-Rusafa Sector, Baghdad, Iraq. Materials and Methods Two study samples were involved in this study. A self-administered questionnaire, which discuss the knowledge of teachers regarding childrens oral health, was distributed among total 80 public kindergarten teachers (First study sample). This was followed by clinical oral health examination for kindergarten children (second study sample). Total 400 children were examined from both genders and from two age groups (4 and 5 years old). Simple random sampling technique was employed for the selection of study participants. Results Teachers demonstrated incomplete knowledge regarding childrens oral health. Only 53.8 % of the respondents were aware of that brushing and flossing is indicated for kindergarten children. Additionally, only 42.5 % of the teachers knew that bigger amount of food intake doesnt increase the risk of having dental caries. Only 33.8 % were aware about the necessity of doing fillings for primary teeth. Around 18.0 % only were aware that adults help is needed during brushing, and that first permanent tooth doesnt appear at the age of 4 years. While around 98.8 %, had the adequate knowledge of the necessity of good nutrition towards oral health, and also about the causes of dental caries, about 88.0 % of the respondents were aware of the required amount of toothpaste required for children, and children can have gum problems, also 87.5 % of them knew about good oral health. More than 80 % of teachers were aware that fluoride could prevent dental caries, and 77.5 % of them knew that fluoride doesnt cause tooth whitening. Meanwhile, 68.8 % were aware about harmful effects of dental plaque, and that brushing twice a day only is not enough to prevent dental caries. In addition, 66.3 % of teachers knew the number and eruption time of primary teeth, as well as they thought that sugary snacks is not recommended to be consumed between meals. About 62.5 % of teachers were aware of the importance of primary teeth. However, no obvious differences were found in childrens plaque and gingival indices regarding the level of teachers knowledge, the same was seen dmfs scores. Conclusions The studied kindergarten teachers demonstrated incomplete oral health knowledge. There is a definite and immediate need for organized training of kindergarten teachers on basic oral health knowledge and practices. However, teachers oral health knowledge regarding childrens oral health does not affect childrens oral health status.