Abstract
The purpose of the present survey was to investigate the attitude toward and consciousness of oral health which middle school students in Sendai have. The number of subjects was 3744. The questionnaires were filled out by the subjects during homeroom time. The results are summarized as follows.
1) 72.6% of subjects brushed their teeth twice a day in the morning and at night.
2) The rate of the subjects who had a daily sweet had intake was 32.3%, and 19% who drank sweet beverages daily.
3) Most of the subjects had made dental visits and 91% of them had visited dentists for the purpose of caries treatment.35.8% of the subjects had not wanted to go to the dentist for the reason that the dental treatment was painful, and they wanted painless treatment from the dentists.
4) About 30% of the subjects had been given tooth-brushing instruction and oral health guidance.
5) About 30% of the subjects had known that fluoride was effective on caries prevention. A few of the subjects had been given fluoride prophylaxis through topical application (7.6%) or mouth rinsing (4.3%).
6) Concerning the question of “What are the most important things to maintain oral health?” 80% of the subjects mentioned tooth-brushing as well as no intake of sweets.
7) The oral problems which the subjects were concerned with were dental caries, malocclusion, and nasal obstruction.
8) 37.3% of the subjects were familiar with the “8020” campaign.
