A Study on the Oral Health Knowledge and Attitude of Elementary School Nursing Teachers in Seoul

서울시 초등양호교사의 구강보건 인식도에 관한 조사연구

Nursing teachers at elementary schools in Seoul were surveyed to determine their sources of information about oral health and their knowledge and attitudes about dental diseases and disease prevention. Questionaires were completed by 305 school nursing teachers. The questionaire included 8 items: demographic characteristics of the study population, sources of oral health information, reasons for maintaining good oral hygiene, ranking of methods of caries prevention in children, knowledge about fluorides, percieved effectiveness of fluorides for children, knowledge about periodontal disease, and the role of school nursing teachers in promoting oral health. Major findings are as follows: 1. The most frequently cited sources of information about dental health were continuing education courses(69.8％). 2. Most respondents had old concepts about the reasons for maintaining good oral hygiene. 3. Elementary school nursing teachers' knowledge about fluorides and preventive methods of caries and periodontal disease was found to be incomplete and sometimes inaccurate. 4. Respondents were likely to agree to accept roles that promote oral health except the supervising of fluoride mouthrinsing. Thus, it was considered that cooperation of all school members is necessary for improving oral health status by following fluoride mouthrinsing