Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Primary School Teachers Regarding Deleterious Oral Habits Leading to Malocclusion in School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background Oral habits are most initiated at the primary school age. Primary school children are seen to have been performing these habits during their active school hours. The peak days they are in school are the most active hours during which the tendency to perform this habit occurs. So, most primary school teachers encounter students in their classes with such habits. Hence, primary school teachers play a vital role in developing healthy habits. Objective The study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and awareness of primary school teachers regarding the oral habits of children that lead to malocclusion. Study setting and design The study was a cross-sectional descriptive observational study of primary school teachers of Nellore, Andhra Pradesh. The study used a questionnaire survey, and different domains were studied, such as the primary school teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and practices. The pretested questionnaires, which involved paper and pen, were distributed to the study participants in person. The filled questionnaires were collected on the same day. A total of 150 responses were collected, with a response rate of 100%. The filled data were gone through to sort out the data obtained as the percentage through every question. The data thus obtained in terms of percentage were analyzed statistically. Results Among 150 teachers, 104 (69.3%) observed the harmful effects of oral habits in children, with 99 (66%) noticing the abnormal alignment of teeth in children's dentition. One hundred ten (73.3%) knew the disbenefits caused by pernicious oral habits. Conclusions Within the limitations, most school teachers in Nellore had less knowledge about oral habits. Their attitude toward preventing oral habits was appreciable. The practice domain showed that many teachers had tried to prevent children from continuing their oral habits. Many teachers do not have enough knowledge to educate or explain the need to consult or visit a dentist, indicating that there is a need to implement training and awareness programs for them. All these findings from this study convey a message to public health dentistry-related professionals about their roles.