A study of oral hygiene in high school students in various geographic districts of the city of Mashhad, in 2001

Introduction:
Most microorganisms can migrate from the oral cavity to other parts of the body. Besides,  poor oral hygiene can cause oral and dental problems as well as systemic diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate oral hygiene in high school students in total and according to sex in various geographic districts of the city of  Mashhad.
Materials and methods:
In this cross sectional study,  the data Collecting method  was direct observation  using informational form. In this study,  906 cases (416 girls and 490 boys) with 15-18 years of age were selected in random cluster sampling. Löe and Silness Gingival index (GI) and Silness and Löe plaque index (PI) were used and oral hygiene status was categorized into four groups as follow:
Score 0: Normal gingiva                                                                                                     (Oral hygiene was good)
Score 1: Mild inflammation in gingiva …                      (Oral hygiene was moderate)
Score 2: Moderate inflammation…                                                                (Oral hygiene was poor)
Score 3: Severe inflammation…                                                      (Oral hygiene was very poor)
Data were analysed  by SPSS software and chi-square test and likelihood ratio statistic were used for statistical analysis.
Results:

26.4% of the students had good oral hygiene, 59.5%  had moderate oral hygiene and 17.1%  had poor oral hygiene stata. No cases with very poor oral hygiene were observed.
Oral hygiene status in girls was better than boys (P-v=0.000)
There was a significant relationship between oral hygiene and geographic district (P-v=0.003). This relationship was also significant in girls (P-v=0.003) and boys (P-v=0.000).
‏‏َA significant difference in oral hygiene status was detected  between areas with good and poor socio- economic stata  (P-v=0.000).

Conclusion:
Moderate oral hygiene had the highest rate and poor oral hygiene had the lowest rate. Oral hygiene in girls was better than that of boys and difference in oral hygiene among districts with better socio-economic condition and poor socio-economic condition was significant. Oral hygiene was significantly  affected by  sex.Oral hygiene was significantly related to various geographic districts in total, and also  in boys and girls.