The Effect of Socio-economic status on the Oral Hygiene of Elementary School Children in the City of Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Title: The Effect of Socio-economic status on the Oral Hygiene of Elementary School Children in the City of Dammam, Saudi Arabia

Authors: Albraithen Abdulrahman, Alsulaiman Ahmed, Alrumaih Hamad, Alfaleh Saleh, Alsunaidi Abdullah

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v4i6.65

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to determine the status of the oral health of children compared to the socioeconomic status (SES) of the parents in the city of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. Three schools were targeted based on the SES levels; two private schools and one governmental school. The sample size was 40 boys from each school all of them 5^th grade students. The dependent variable was the oral hygiene status of the children and the independent variables were the school type (governmental or private), parents’ education and socioeconomic status. Community SES was significantly related to oral hygiene status. Overall, oral health was significantly worse for low SES communities. There is a direct relationship between SES and oral hygiene status of children in elementary schools in the community of Dammam, Saudi Arabia. In which high caries prevalence was seen with children attending public school.

Keywords- Oral Hygiene, Dental, Socio-economic.

References

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Corresponding Author

Albraithen Abdulrahman